The Juneau Police Department and city employees arrived at Teal Street Friday morning to clear the unhoused encampment. People gathered on the opposite side of their street with their belongings as excavators scooped up tarps, plywood and bedding into dump trucks.
The city issued a notice earlier this week announcing the clearance, citing a prohibition of on-street camping for winter weather maintenance. The notice said all campsites had to be removed by 8 a.m. Friday, Nov. 14.
Willow Williams sat on the sidewalk Friday morning as his tent was thrown away. He said he feels frustrated about being displaced, but that he is somewhat hopeful, because he is on the waiting list for a room at the Glory Hall. He doesn’t know exactly when it will be available, though.
“I could be in tonight, or I could be in next week,” he said.
In the meantime, Williams plans to spend nights at the warming shelter in Thane. The shelter, which runs from mid-October through mid-April, is open overnights for Juneau’s coldest months. The city saw some of its first snow at sea level Thursday night, and rain is expected through the weekend.
Because of a shifted hip and back injuries, Williams said it’s difficult for him to get from the warming shelter and back to resources like the Glory Hall and St. Vincent de Paul, which provide assistance finding housing, food and clothing.
Williams said, along with the cold, one of the hardest parts of living in the encampments is the harassment.
“There’d be a lot of people that would drive by and call us all kinds of names and tell us to kill ourselves and that we’re worthless pieces of junk,” Williams said.
With the city clearing the encampment, support groups and volunteers were already working to help people relocate.
Muriel Reid, storyteller at Haa Tóoch Lichéesh Coalition, was at the encampment alongside many from the Taskforce on Homelessness to help unhoused residents before the clearing. He said many people he spoke with planned to stay in the Mendenhall Valley — some heading toward Brotherhood Bridge, others planning to return to Teal Street after the site is cleared.
Haa Tóoch Lichéesh put out requests for supplies and help with transportation as the city cleared the encampment. Blankets went almost immediately, along with warming pads and handwarmers.
St. Vincent de Paul is currently asking for donations of waterproof shoes and boots, rain gear, blankets and tarps. The Glory Hall is seeking bedding, hygiene products, towels, dishware and camping gear.
