Tucson — Esteban Park is a sprawling grassy area with playgrounds and rugby fields adjacent to Barrio Anita, a neighborhood wedge between Interstate 10 and the railroad tracks just north of downtown. It is at the center of Tucson’s homeless crisis.
The camp’s population fluctuated between 30 and 80, but dozens of those living there were ordered to leave in April after the city deemed Tucson residents too divided and unsafe. While many neighbors wanted the park removed, some said it was a safer option for those living on the frontier.
“Encampments are not a good solution, but clearing camps is worse,” said Natalie Brewster Nguyen, who lives near the park and helps people living there. Removing homeless camps has made it more difficult for people to access social services, she said.
On April 24, the city of Tucson posted a notice on the camp fence asking residents to remove their personal belongings from the property within 72 hours. Three days later, before sunrise, the camp residents were awakened by the voices of the police, telling them to take their belongings and leave.
Shannon Burley, 50, lived in the camp with her partner. The couple stayed in Esteban Park for about a year with their two dogs. Burley lost her used car dealership during the Great Recession and became homeless, she said. She has health problems and her disability benefits are not enough to pay for her living expenses, she said.
The couple lost everything, including some of their most valuable possessions, tents, mattresses and generators, in the en masse demolition of the Esteban Park camp.
“Not only do we have no money. You have a $300 tent…you have a $500 generator. No,” Burley said, holding back tears.
She said the city’s cleanup notice was unclear. She didn’t understand that residents would be forced to move, she said. She thought it was to clean up the trash.
“It was about garbage disposal, not vacating the property,” Burley said.
Burley said police gave her 10 minutes to retrieve her belongings during the cleanup, but did not offer to keep them.
“They just tore it up. Whatever you didn’t get, it’s gone. It’s garbage,” she said.
The Splinter Collective, a non-profit organization run by Nguyen, is paying for Burley to stay at a nearby motel while he searches for a home.
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Mari Vazquez, resource coordinator for multiple government agencies and project manager for Tucson’s Homeless Protocol, said the Esteban Park camp removal process required Union Pacific Railroad, which owns neighboring land, to vacate the property. said to have started in January.
As the camp expanded, Vazquez said it became “a danger to the camp’s inhabitants, the surrounding area and the environment.”
He said the city worked with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and several nonprofits to conduct relief operations in the area for about six weeks before the camp was removed.
But when the cleanup crew arrived, no one accepted help, Vazquez said. The team was providing cleaning services to the camp. People often turn down shelter and detox services because they don’t want to be in crowded environments, don’t want to leave their partners or pets to meet shelter rules, or aren’t ready to stop using drugs. she says
Vazquez said pick-up trucks will appear on removal day to help relocate people, and the city is prepared to store belongings for up to 30 days. But she said residents told her they didn’t need such services.
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Nguyen has spent a lot of time building relationships with people living on the streets of Barrio Anita and nearby, installing outdoor showers, charging stations and providing other resources.
Nguyen said the people at Esteban Park Camp have a sense of family and are relatively stable.
“It’s also much more stable than being swept around. The clearing of camps, especially the way Esteban was cleared in April, is incredibly violent and destabilizing for those who are barely enduring it.” It’s something,” Nguyen said.
After the mass demolition of Esteban Park in April, the Splinter Collective raised tens of thousands of dollars to help move people into temporary housing and move dozens into hotel rooms. Nguyen also provided tents to some people who lost their tents during cleaning.
“You see, I am not a social worker, but we put a lot of people in the hotel. Told.
Dozens of people displaced by the park’s cleanup efforts ended up camping on Nguyen’s property. But the area is also an easement for the city, and Nguyen was charged with civil violations for operating a “active campsite” without declaring a proper zoning.
Nguyen had to prevent camping on the property, clean up trash and put up a “no trespassing” sign, according to the city’s citation.
“You are telling people not to camp on public land, not to camp on private land, not to camp on railroad land,” Nguyen said. Be. “
Since then, those camping at the washing area have dispersed elsewhere, Nguyen said.
Removing the homeless camps would leave people “relocating with significantly less resources and more trauma. The only way to actually remove the camps is to move people into housing,” he said. Nguyen said.
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Rose Thompson, a former nurse, has a house very close to Esteban Park. This house has been inhabited by the Thompson family for over 100 years of her life. Her daughter and her grandson now live there.
“Esteban Park used to be a gathering place for families and college students to play rugby and jog,” she said. “It’s in a cage now because it has needles, faeces, etc.”
She said it was painful to see people in the camp suffering, but she was also concerned about the safety of her daughter and grandchildren.
Thompson said he was grateful to the Tucson Crime Freedom Coalition for helping to remove the Esteban Park camp. According to its website, the coalition is a regional organization that advocates for increased resources and personnel for law enforcement, drug treatment, and prosecuting criminals.
Kevin Daley, one of the grassroots group’s founders, said residents of Barrio Anita are concerned about drug activity, theft, violence and fires, and plastic playground equipment in Esteban Park melted earlier this year. . People wanted the parks to be available again, he said.
Tucson has resources, such as shelters and drug treatment programs, available for those who lived in Esteban Park, Daily said.
But the Coalition’s position is that more needs to be done to reduce drug use in Tucson. The coalition advocates additional ways for people in need to reach rehabilitation services. Pima County Transition Center, near the prison. Due to open this summer, staff there will help people get treatment, housing and other resources.
According to the Daily, the Tucson Crime Prevention Coalition represents more than 4,000 people.
“They all feel the same about personal safety and quality of life,” he says. “That’s all we do. We just want to feel safe again.”
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