PHOENIX — Four years ago, almost to the day, the first tents were erected in what was to become the Zone.
"The police told us when I was homeless, come down here if you wanted to pitch a tent and you would be safe down here," Brandon Papp said.
Papp says he spent three of the five years he was without a home living in the Zone. Papp returned to the area Friday to tend to some business at the Human Services campus. He was surprised by the changes in just a few weeks.
"'Wow', that's definitely my thought. There is no one here at all anymore."
At its peak, the city says more than 700 people lived in the Zone, a 15-block area located just west of downtown Phoenix.
The lunchtime crowd is back at the Old Station Sandwich Shop on Jefferson Street. As the Zone grew, owner Joseph Faillace's customers often stayed away, thinking it wasn't safe.
"Come back and see me in a couple of weeks and we'll see. But I'm hopeful. It's been a tough four years," Faillace said.
The City of Phoenix began cleanups of the Zone on May 10. Since then, the Office of Homeless Solutions says it moved approximately 600 individuals to indoor shelter locations. There, they can receive services that can help them stay off the street.
"Going to a shelter bed doesn't end their homelessness," Director Rachel Milne said. "So, we have work to do there and then for the folk still on the street walking around who didn't accept help. We need to make sure we're working with them to find appropriate services."
Faillace believes the rise of the Zone and the fight by business owners and residents to get the city to address it opened a lot of eyes to the issue and the need to deal with it.
"It just isn't the Zone, it's everywhere. And we as a state or a country need to figure out a way to fix this," Faillace said. "I think public opinion has shifted and I think things will start to get done."
In recent weeks, 400 shelter beds have been made available in Phoenix. The city also opened its outdoor campground on a limited basis this week. As of Thursday night, 14 people are currently camping out there. Food, showers, and services are available there. When it's fully operational, as many as 300 people will be able to stay there. The city is hoping the site will never reach capacity.
