Downtown Pittsburgh homeless encampment to be cleaned up Wednesday

PITTSBURGH — The city of Pittsburgh is preparing to clean up a homeless encampment downtown on Wednesday.

A sign posted by the encampment on Fort Pitt Boulevard, near Grant Street, says everyone has until 5 p.m. Wednesday to vacate the tightly packed area currently lined with tents, trash, blankets, and even boxes of Narcan.

This is the second time in a matter of months that the city is clearing a downtown homeless camp.

In November, Channel 11 reported on the city’s effort to clean up the camp along First Avenue near the onramp to the Parkway.

“I generally don’t think it’s a choice on their part. They likely don’t have any other option,” said Andrew Weiss, who lives Downtown and sympathizes with these people experiencing homelessness.

Weiss is currently studying for a master’s degree in social work at Pitt.

He also understands that some people feel uneasy or unsafe walking past encampments like this one.

“Not that these individuals are necessarily violent, but there’s that stereotype perpetuated that they’re violent, so people could feel unsafe, so I want them to feel safe and I want these people to get the help that they deserve,” Weiss said.

The city says it is providing shelter, medical care, and access to mental health services for anyone who needs it.

The sign posted at the encampment says people can call Allegheny Link at 1-866-730-2368 or Reaching Out on the Streets (ROOTS) at 412-330-1460.

Weiss hopes there’s enough space for everyone forced from their tented living space.

“I know some of the housing around here for some of these individuals is fairly limited, fairly populated,” Weiss said.

The city says it will be storing any of the items not removed from the encampment by 5:00 pm Wednesday for 90 days and can be picked up at the Office of Community Health and Safety.

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