That pressure, according to Lawrence, had come in various forms, including "threats," from city officials in years past. But the push to move the homeless had intensified in recent months, the pastor said, in part because police had made some arrests in the park. Drug dealers had taken over some of the tents and were distributing narcotics from them. Also, prostitution was taking place in some of the tarp shelters, he said.
"The tents were making things too convenient," Lawrence said. "And we didn't want [criminal acts] to happen anymore."
City officials said they are eager to make the most of their new pact with St. Vincent de Paul.
Outreach workers have been visiting with homeless men and women who live and congregate in the park for the past several weeks, and workers are planning to do medical and mental health assessments of park inhabitants this week. Those assessments will be used to determine housing options for park residents, as well as drug treatment needs.
"There's a certain trust," said Greg Sileo, who heads up the city's homeless outreach work, of the connection that has evolved between the homeless people at the park and some outreach workers. He said it also helps that the city has made ending homelessness a priority and has developed a plan to achieve it within 10 years.
The plan, announced by Mayor Sheila Dixon this year, calls for the leasing of 500 housing units to chronically homeless men, women and families; the passage of legislation to make it illegal to discriminate against renters who receive government subsidies such as food stamps and housing vouchers; and the creation of a housing trust that would encourage developers to build homes for the poor and disenfranchised.
The city has recently upset some neighborhoods by placing temporary shelters in residential areas, but there have also been some signs of progress.
Several homeless camps have been broken down recently, including the one on Guilford Avenue, and most of the people who lived in them were moved into permanent housing units, not shelters. More recently, city officials persuaded a handful of homeless people living outdoors in South Baltimore to enter drug treatment.
About 100 housing units have already been set aside by the city housing authority for use by homeless men, women and children, and at least 10 of those have been reserved for some of the people who live in the park next door to St. Vincent de Paul, Glauber said.
At least one park resident is eager to have a home with a roof and four walls.
Emily Dodd is a 72-year-old grandmother who has been living in the park for about a month, she said. Dodd said that after her husband died several years ago, she moved in with her children. But when they started to argue, she moved on.
"I just went from one place to the next, and then I ended up here," she said. "Oh, if I could have a little apartment, that would be so nice."
Another park resident, Anthony Graham, 52, said he prefers the outdoors to shelters. He demonstrated to a visitor how he sleeps in the rain, under a purple comforter and a brown tarp.
"This is how people sleep," Graham said, snuggling up in his comforter while tucking the tarp under his wooden bench. Still, he said that when it rains hard, there's no staying dry. "That's when it's really terrible," he said.
lynn.anderson@baltsun.com
