PHOENIX — New numbers for the homeless encampment known as “The Zone” near downtown Phoenix show the number of people unsheltered is growing.
Each week, officials with the Human Services Campus do a count of the number of people living on the streets, and this week the number has grown.
Here is the information shared with ABC15:
May 8: 786
May 15: 734
May 22: 786
May 29: 760
June 13: 810
The numbers can fluctuate weekly, but the Human Services Campus could not pinpoint a specific reason as to why the numbers may be increasing despite cleanups. They add that some people who left during the city’s cleanups could have also returned.
"The Zone" is a seven-block-long, five-block-wide homeless encampment located just west of the downtown area.
ABC15 has reported in the past as many as 1,000 people have lived there at any one time.
May 10 was the first day of the city of Phoenix’s coordinated plan to close off the area block by block and begin cleanups. The city has said they have had success in connecting several dozen people to services.
In March, Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney ordered the city of Phoenix to remove the encampment and enforce city and state laws against public camping, pollution, drug abuse and violence.
