DES MOINES, Iowa — Local advocates are working to figure out how to address issues with homelessness in the long term after the City of Des Moines ordered the removal of a campsite for the city's unhoused population.
After receiving multiple complaints, the city cleared the campsite just down the street from Central Iowa Shelter & Services on Monday, Oct. 10. Approximately two dozen people were displaced during the removal.
That might not seem like very many, but it's actually more than 10% of Des Moines's unhoused population.
"In 2022, the last weekend of July, it was 184 people were living unsheltered at that point in time, which is up from previous years," said Shelby Ridley, Homeless Support Services Program Director for Primary Health Care.
According to the city of Des Moines, cleanup crews sent to the campsite after the clearing found it mostly deserted. That makes it difficult to track where all of the residents ended up.
While outreach workers try to connect the displaced residents with the resources they need, none of them are required to.
"Part of the housing first philosophy for us is that client's self-determination is a big piece of that. And so the clients are, are telling us how they want to engage in what it is that they need, and then we help them try and meet those needs," Ridley said.
The workers try to help unhoused people minimize the impact of the displacement, often by providing some advance notice so that people can save things like their valuables and important documents. Other advocates are looking for a more long-term solution to homelessness.
"Folks working with income are still challenged to find affordable housing that they can live in and not be burdensome to them. That's a different challenge for us in our community," said Angie Arthur, Executive Director of Homeward Iowa.
And that's not an impossible goal.
According to Homeward Iowa, Des Moines has the funding and resources to end homelessness among military veterans, it's just a matter of scaling that approach for the whole community.
"It's proven that we can do it. If we have the appropriate level of resources in our community to move forward," Arthur said.
The city of Des Moines told Local 5 that any resources made available to unhoused residents will be distributed through Central Iowa Shelter & Services and Primary Health Care.