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Advocates want Rochester to stop encampment sweeps and offer other forms of assistance

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Advocates want Rochester to stop encampment sweeps and offer other forms of assistance

Rochester, New York – After a homeless camp in downtown Rochester was cleared out in December, advocates have redoubled their calls for policy change.

“Getting rid of the encampments just gets rid of the evidence of the problem that encampments form when the system fails,” stated Matthew James Seidel. “These provide real communities and places of safety for people.”

According to Amy D’Amico, “No-barrier shelters is a solution,” “More housing, more apartments that are subsidized,” she continued. “I believe it is a mistake to wait for the federal government or even the state government to handle that. I believe we have the money here.

Seidel and D’Amico serve as street outreach workers for the homeless in Rochester as volunteers with Rochester Grants Pass Resistance. Both expressed disapproval of the recent removal of an illegal homeless camp beneath the South Clinton Avenue bridge on December 20 and demanded that the mayor’s office take action to stop the alleged sweeps.

According to both, the reasons why some people decide to remain outside rather than seek assistance or shelter are frequently complicated. Both believe that rather than taking individuals away, they should be helped where they are. Nicholas Pragle has been homeless and living on Rochester’s streets for a while. He claimed that outreach workers bring goods to him. He claimed that because he is dubious about the security of his possessions in shelters, he prefers to remain outside in his own encampment.

He has a tiny area outside to rest and keep warm in the cold, on his own terms. Pragle made the statement, “I got a mattress,” “The pallet came first, followed by the mattress and cover. I do that.

The city claimed that such circumstances, in December when temperatures were in the single digits, were a safety hazard. This followed the removal of an unauthorized camp on city property beneath the South Clinton Avenue bridge.

In addition to acknowledging the obstacles that lead some people to turn down assistance, a city official stated on December 21 that it was critical to link them with the county’s Code Blue shelters.

The City owns the land where the encampment was located, and we felt it was crucial to connect the people there to Code Blue Shelters because of the single-digit cold this weekend. We are keeping their belongings and providing transportation. We must begin offering them options to refuge if we know they won’t go there,” D’Amico contended.

She and Seidel think that support systems should be changed, and they propose, among other things, additional funding for affordable housing and shelters without barriers.

D’Amico remarked, “I give them warm things,” “I provide HotHands to them. I offer them some soup made with chicken noodles. When they beg for gloves, I offer them some.”

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