Homeless People Living in Charlotte “Tent City” Have Until Friday to Leave

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Volunteers are working to help dozens of people find a new place to stay.

They’ve been living in a tent city in North Charlotte because they had nowhere else to go during the pandemic.

Now they have until Friday to clear out.

“It’s really hard to see them have to move from a place that they’ve been for months and months,” says Bethany McDonald, with Hearts Beat as One.

She and other members of the group are helping people prepare to leave the homeless encampment at 12th and Poplar Street.

She says people there have no where else to go, some losing their jobs, evicted from motels, as a result of the pandemic.

CMPD plans to clear the tent city on Friday at 5:00 p.m.

The company that owns the private property filed a trespassing complaint.

“The CMPD has a duty and an obligation to respond and assist the property owners with the removal of individuals who are trespassing on their private property,” says Capt. Brad Koch, with CMPD.

Non-profit “Roof Above” is also helping relocate people.

Randall Hitt says of more than 100 homeless people once on the property, only about 25 are left.

“The problem is there are a myriad of issues that people in homeless encampments deal with, from severe and persistent mental illness, to substance abuse, to other barriers that are tough to get them into housing,” Hitt says.

Ray McKinnon, with INLIVIAN, says the tent city is a visible reminder of Charlotte’s affordable housing crisis.

“Those problems are being exacerbated and being put on the forefront so that none of us can say we didn’t know,” McKinnon    t