Media Mentions

"Downtown green space dislodges homeless tent city"

Date: March 7, 2010
Source: WFMY News 2

"...The homeless outreach group StreetWatch says 15 men and two women lived at the camp last summer. This season's severe winter weather whittled that down to six by last week..."

"In the city's path"

Date: March 6, 2010
Source: News & Record

"...Last summer, 15 men and two women lived at the Freeman Mill camp, according to the outreach group StreetWatch. But by this week, as March brought yet another snow, only the six remained.

For the short term, they simply broke camp and crossed a chain link fence to adjoining property, where the Mitchell family leases out an AM radio tower and a billboard.

The clearing, in contrast to the woods, offers less cover, leaving the tents exposed.

'It's quieter on the other side. Here, when the train passes, it vibrates you,' Owens shouted Friday as a Norfolk-Southern train clattered close by his makeshift campsite.

'And the wind wasn't so bad over there. Tuesday, when it was snowing, it kept putting our fire out.'

Elliot Mitchell, whose family has long owned the WKEW tower property, doesn't mind the homeless camping on his land. Still, he said he would like to see efforts to improve the greenway also extend to improving the lot of its former inhabitants.

'I wasn't upset. They need somewhere to go,' said Mitchell, who discovered a previous camp a year ago when he spotted a campfire. 'They're pretty much down on their luck, and keeping to themselves. Ideally, maybe we can find another place for them to stay.'

That, in a nutshell, is the objective for StreetWatch outreach workers, who have seen the chronically homeless struggle through a particularly harsh winter...."

"Homeless measure temps with blankets"

Date: January 10, 2010
Source: News & Record

"...Friday, as the temperature plummeted quickly from 27 one hour after nightfall down to a low of 12, Blaylock and StreetWatch volunteers kept a wary eye on known homeless camps and bridge people.

Distributing cold-weather clothes donated by Our Lady of Grace Catholic school, Cara Michele Forrest and Audrie Keen lingered at the camp until dusk, then headed out again Saturday..."