Carlos Alvarado and his wife, Amanda Kamer, have been staying in a tent off of E. Miller Ave. on the south side of Akron for several months.
They ended up there after Alvarado lost his job, he said.
鈥淢y boss had a stroke, then he tore his aorta 鈥� so he鈥檚 out for the year, so I鈥檓 out for the year. So, here I am,鈥� Alvarado said.
A couple of weeks ago, city officials posted a sign near his tent ordering them to vacate the property by Dec. 5. The sign indicates 鈥渘on-abandoned鈥� belongings would be stored at a pick-up location at 850 E. Market St. for 30 days.
鈥淲e just start all over,鈥� Alvarado said. 鈥淚 mean you can鈥檛 sit down and cry about it. You just move on.鈥�
The city of Akron is under a federal consent decree that instructs city officials not to immediately dispose of personal belongings, such as tents, blankets and bikes, except under certain circumstances.
But 海角破解版 was on the scene as workers from a waste management company removed the couple鈥檚 belongings, including their tent 鈥� even though Kamer and Alvarado indicated they wanted to re-claim some items at a later date.
Ideastream followed the truck carrying their belongings and found they didn鈥檛 take the belongings to 850 E. Market St.
They went instead to a waste disposal site.
Local advocates concerned city isn鈥檛 following consent decree
Under the consent decree, which was issued in 2016, the city can only dispose of personal belongings under certain circumstances, such as if they are contaminated, hazardous or have been abandoned for some time, said Rebecca Sremack, an attorney who worked on the lawsuit that led to the decree. They鈥檙e also allowed to remove property if it鈥檚 found to be evidence of a crime.
In the lawsuit, six unhoused individuals claimed the city was seizing, destroying and disposing of their property without their permission, she said.
鈥淭he thrust behind the lawsuit is that there are constitutional protections against this, and the city of Akron was simply ignoring them,鈥� Sremack said.
The consent decree outlines proper provisions for encampment sweeps that were agreed upon by both city officials and the plaintiffs.
The city is instructed to store personal belongings, which are defined in the consent decree and include items like tents, bikes and blankets, left on public property for 30 days at a designated pick-up location. Items on private property are typically supposed to be left there 鈥� except in some cases of trespassing, litter and nuisance complaints, Sremack added.
Sremack sent a letter to the city鈥檚 law director this week outlining concerns from local advocates that the city isn鈥檛 following the decree - particularly that personal belongings are being thrown away of instead of stored.
Lerryn Campbell, director of The Homeless Charity and Village, a nonprofit that offers resources to unhoused individuals, said these concerns aren鈥檛 new.
鈥淚 can tell you, in the last two years, I haven鈥檛 seen anybody be able to reclaim any property,鈥� Campbell said.
Campbell and other advocates for the unhoused often attend sweeps to offer support and resources, Campbell said. Recently, they鈥檝e been helping individuals tag belongings that they can鈥檛 take with them that day, but want to re-claim at a later date, with their name and contact information, she said.
Fran Wilson, a community organizer, helped Amanda Kamer tag the couple鈥檚 tent and bike during the Dec. 7 sweep.
鈥淲e have taken it upon ourselves to create notices for property claimants so that we can better record when this happens,鈥� Wilson said.
The notices read, in part: 鈥淭his sign indicates property that is claimed for and not abandoned.鈥�
But after Alvarado and Kamer left, the waste management workers cleared out their tagged belongings, including their tent and a bike.
City officials who were overseeing the sweep that day declined to comment without first getting permission.
In a follow-up with Mayor Dan Horrigan's office, spokesperson Stephanie Marsh said, 鈥淭he City is still in the process of gathering information related to the clean-up efforts which occurred last week."
Marsh added in an additional statement that the city is focusing on creating more sustainable housing to try to move the needle on the city鈥檚 growing homelessness problem.
鈥淭ents are not a viable, safe, or sustainable housing option. They are also not a solution to homelessness and in fact, can exacerbate homelessness in a community,鈥� Marsh said in the statement. 鈥淲e continue to work with the Continuum of Care and all our homeless resources providers on getting help and access to services and resources to all who need it. We encourage anyone facing homelessness to call 2-1-1 for connection to a variety of resources available to them.鈥�
Ideastream has asked for details on whether a nuisance or trespassing complaint had been filed about Alvarado and Kamer.
But the city鈥檚 posted sign indicated 鈥渘on-abandoned鈥� property would be stored for 30 days. Alvarado and Kamer did not have a vehicle to take all of their personal belongings that day, Kamer said.
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have a U-Haul truck. We鈥檙e talking about individuals that don鈥檛 have the resources to be able to move at a moment鈥檚 notice,鈥� Sremack added.
In addition to concerns about property being disposed, Wilson and Campbell have heard from unhoused individuals at previous sweeps that they were not given notice ahead of time.
The city is supposed to contact a local organization that serves unhoused individuals to let them know of upcoming sweeps, and it鈥檚 unclear whether that鈥檚 happening as well, Campbell said.
There is no specific entity overseeing the city鈥檚 compliance with the decree, Sremack said. If there are concerns that procedures aren鈥檛 being followed, people can write a letter to the city outlining concerns, as Sremack did this week.
鈥淭he city has an opportunity to respond to it about their view of whether the consent decree was followed or not, and if there were any issues with not following that decree, what the city is going to do to correct,鈥� she said.
The city has a week to respond, she added, and further legal action can be taken if advocates for the unhoused continue to have concerns.
As for Alvarado and Kamer, they are planning to stay with a relative for a few days but said they didn't want to be an intrusion for too long.
Campbell, who let the couple know of additional resources in the city, shook her head.
鈥淓very day of the week, you are enough. Just the way you stand, you are always enough,鈥� she told them.
