LANSING — A homeless encampment of more than 50 residents, which was supposed to be vacated by Nov. 14, will get a reprieve of sorts after an Ingham County judge extended an order by 90 days allowing occupants to continue living on private property while city officials work to find them housing.
The new order will allow residents to stay in the encampment near Dietrich Park, north of Old Town, through much of the winter, exactly what resident Willie Hayes wanted – to stay outdoors because he doesn’t feel comfortable in shelters.
“It was a win all the way around,” Hayes said after the Nov. 12 hearing. “The judge did well in representing the homeless people at the camp. She’s been getting our emails. Otherwise, they would just try to run roughshod over us. We wouldn’t have any recourse at all. Because once the case is done, it’s done.”
The city in May sued two companies – 113 W. Michigan LLC of Jackson and JAJ Property LLC of West Bloomfield Township – where the camp has been locatedy, trying to get them to break up the encampment of about 60 to 70 residents earlier this year and clear the land of debris.
Aquilina has dismissed 113 W. Michigan LLC from the suit, saying the LLC was working with the city and there’s “very, very little of their property that’s involved.”
But she also previously ordered the camp’s residents to work with city officials, along with local social workers and homeless advocates, even if it has to be during weekly Wednesday meetings on the third floor of the courthouse she has been holding since Sept. 17.
At the Nov. 12 session, she granted the 90-day extension after Matthew Staples, an assistant city attorney for Lansing, reported the population, at a best guess, remains at about 50, no matter how many resources are available for the residents.
“What else do you have?” Aquilina asked in her courtroom, where residents of the camp and their supporters sat and others, in the hallway, waited for an outcome.
“The city is doing everything in its power currently and is creatively trying to find new and different resources to bring to bear, your Honor,” Staples responded. “We are doing everything we possibly can. We are collaborating with our community partners and we are having serious internal creative discussions on ways to try to come up with something to alleviate this.”
Aquilina then announced the 90-day extension of the Nov. 14 deadline, which was established for JAJ to “trespass any individual remaining at the encampment” and “remove, or cause to be removed, all improvised structures, tents, garbage, trash and rubbish” that remains on the property. If the company doesn’t fulfill that order, the city can do it, with the costs falling to JAJ, the judge has said.
“I’m going to extend this order 90 days,” Aquilina said. “Once people are leaving, once you’ve helped them, once you’ve housed them, you may, as I said last time, bulldoze and start cleaning and making it safe because I don’t want new people there. New people would be in violation of this order.
“There will be an end to this encampment, because they are not lawfully there, but they will not be removed like garbage, as I’ve said many times. We need a safe place for them but we don’t need the whole city’s homeless population to land there.”
Aquilina admitted to being concerned that the encampment’s population is actually growing because of different numbers being reported at different times.
Whether Aquilina’s order will solve a problem that has existed in the neighborhood for at least three years remains to be seen.
Critics have said relocating residents from the camp, which has existed for at least three years, is not going to be easy. There are a host of issues involved, and homeless shelters aren’t an an acceptable option, or an option at all, for some people living on the streets. Experts say those include people who are caregivers; have partners, children or pets; medical, mobility or mental health issues; or don’t feel comfortable staying in religious-based environments. Alcohol and drug abuse can also be problems when trying to get admitted to a shelter.
Aquilina also directly addressed accusations by JAJ Property that city officials and police were directing people to the camp.
Attorney Steven Ogilvie, representing JAJ Property, said in court documents “city officials and law-enforcement personnel directed individuals” to the encampment.
Ogilvie was not present at the Nov. 12 hearing and did not return a call from the State Journal.
“I hope that you are all preparing for the upcoming hearing as to the allegations that were made by the property owner that somehow the higherups – the officials – have allowed persons being transported from one homeless place to this place and it’s become a dumping ground,” Aquilina said.
Deputy City Attorney Joe Abood pushed back on the accusation.
“This assertion is ludicrous,” he said. “We would not send everybody to a property and then file a lawsuit to abate the nuisance. That’s not the way the city has ever operated.”
After the hearing, Lansing Housing Ombudsman Joe McDonald deferred all questions to city spokesman Scott Bean, who is out of the office this week. Deputy Mayor Christopher Mumby did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday night.
Contact editor Susan Vela at svela@lsj.com or 248-873-7044. Follow her on Twitter @susanvela.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Judge grants 90-day extension for residents of Lansing homeless camp
Reporting by Susan Vela, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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