PHOENIX — It has been a full calendar year since a group of businesses filed suit against the City of Phoenix to force them to clean up the downtown homeless encampment known as “the Zone.”
“It feels like it’s been more than a year, because we’ve been fighting this battle for three years prior to filing the lawsuit,” President of PBF Manufacturing Freddy Brown told ABC15.
Brown is one of several business owners downtown who sued the city of Phoenix in August of 2022.
“We definitely feel for individuals experiencing homelessness. We see them on a daily basis,” Brown said. “It is not fair to them to have the city just let them live this way.”
The City of Phoenix’s Office of Homeless Solutions told ABC15 in a statement:
“Our enhanced engagements are proven successful in connecting people with shelter and appropriate services to end their homelessness. Since May, when the city began closing blocks around the Human Services Campus to camping, our efforts have resulted in 167 people accepting a space in shelter or treatment, an 80% success rate. We remain committed to offering those who are unsheltered around the Human Services Campus a safe, indoor space and safeguarding the belongings of our unsheltered residents while addressing the concerns of the surrounding community.
The City of Phoenix continues working to add new shelter beds in our community. Recognizing the urgent need, we partnered to open more than 700 new beds in 2022 and 2023. We have an additional 780 beds scheduled to become available by next year.”
When the city’s first round of “enhanced engagement” cleanups began in May, the Human Services Campus counted 786 people living in the Zone. Tuesday that number was down to 707, with HSC finding 219 people sleeping on the pavement – a dangerous task during a summer where temperatures are consistently above 100°.
“They’re pushing people around and condensing how many people are in a smaller area,” Christopher Fuller said.
Fuller lives in the Zone with his dog, Rock. He moved in, in February.
“I see cleaning up but I don’t see anyone really being helped much,” Fuller told ABC15 Friday.
The next major decision in court is expected to come next week.
“We are probably looking at getting a permanent injunction against the city and moving up their timeline,” Brown said. “That is best case scenario and that’s what we’re hoping happens.”
No matter what plays out in court, those living in the Zone say additional assistance is needed.
“Do more,” Fuller said. “They say they’re helping people but there are still people dying out here every day.”
