City tells homeless campers to relocate within two weeks

They spoke like old friends, though one was handing the other an eviction notice.

Officer Ken Colon of the Juneau Police Department gave Tapia Church a laminated piece of paper Tuesday afternoon as they stood under Church’s blue tarp just off Egan Drive. The paper cited Alaska statutes that outlined the fact that Church and about 10 others currently occupying Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority land on the Juneau subport were trespassing.

The sheet detailed that those on the land had until Sept. 5 (two weeks) to vacate the area. Colon, who knows many of the campers from his downtown shifts, knows Church. The two spoke civilly and Church and his tentmate Tyler Phillips even laughed as they discussed the fact that they’ve begun to clean up their tent.

“We’re already downsizing,” Phillips said, cracking a joke.

Along with Colon, a couple more JPD officers, authorities from the Trust Authority and a few others walked through the property in the pouring rain Tuesday to alert the campers. Colon said the process went smoothly, as expected. Many of the residents already knew about the city’s plan to enforce trespassing and were making efforts to move out.

[Photos: Gold Creek Homeless Camp]

John Morrison, the executive director of the Trust Land Office at the Trust Authority, said this had been in the works for a couple months.

“This is not necessarily a decision,” Morrison said. “We have a statutory obligation to protect trust land, to protect it specifically for long-term revenue generation. We’ve been working since the beginning of the summer with the City and Borough of Juneau and other local providers to come up with a suitable plan to address this issue. Now’s the time.”

Morrison didn’t specify future plans for the land but said “a variety of potential revenue-generating opportunities” are on the table. He and Chief Operating Officer Steve Williams said that taking care of trespassing situations such as this is a fairly common occurrence. This, Morrison said, took more effort than most because they’re also trying to figure out future options for the homeless campers on the property.

The laminated sheet outlined six local resources for homeless to seek shelter or assistance: The Glory Hole shelter, AWARE (Aiding Women in Abuse and Rape Emergencies), the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Juneau Youth Services (for children), the Juneau Alliance for Mental Health, Inc. (JAMHI) and Family Promise, which is an organization that takes up to two families at a time off the street.

Colon and his fellow officers explained to the few people who were present Tuesday afternoon what the local options are and how they can help.

“It is a sad situation,” Colon said, “but we are offering as much services as possible to help assist this matter.”

Juneau’s homeless population is rising, and options for them are dwindling. A Point in Time Count report in April showed that 215 people in Juneau are homeless, and that 6.6 out of every 1,000 people in the city is homeless (the highest rate in the state). Along with the subport property now being off limits, sleeping in doorways of downtown businesses is also prohibited after a city ordinance in February.

The Glory Hole shelter is an option, but has a policy forbidding patrons with a blood alcohol level of above 0.10 percent. The Thane Campground (which the city will keep open into November this year) is another option, but it’s far south of downtown and more than a mile away from a transit station. The Housing First Collaborative, which opens in September, provides housing for 32 residents but stops there.

Colon said one of the residents he spoke with Tuesday planned to leave just a day later, ready to move to the next spot. Colon said people he’s talked to in recent days have been hesitant to share where they’re relocating because they don’t want others to follow.

Church and Phillips said they have a pretty good idea of where they’re headed, but haven’t been vocal about it.

“We haven’t told anybody,” Church said. “We’re not telling anybody, because then you have more people and next thing you know you’ve got a campsite like this.”

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• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at alex.mccarthy@juneauempire.com.

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