Kalamazoo says it will not enforce trespassing order, as resident blocks off gates of homeless camp in Kalamazoo
Updated: Sep. 29, 2021, 4:48 p.m. | Published: Sep. 29, 2021, 1:49 p.m.
Ampersee encampment set to close in Kalamazoo
By Brad Devereaux | bdeverea@mlive.com
KALAMAZOO, MI — The city of Kalamazoo will not be enforcing the deadline for people living at a homeless encampment along the Kalamazoo River to leave today at 5 p.m., city of Kalamazoo Public Information Officer Ryan Bridges confirmed with MLive.
The city previously announced people would have until 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 29, to vacate the property, where dozens of people have set up makeshift homes and tents on the contaminated Brownfield site.
"We are working closely with our partners to identify options for those living at Ampersee," Bridges tole MLive Wednesday morning.
Related: Reports of sex assaults, trafficking investigated at Kalamazoo homeless encampment set for closure
Campfires smoldered at sites around the perimeter of the camp Wednesday after 9 a.m., where deep muddy tire tracks cut into the dirt path that runs around the area. Some trash was present at the site, like rusted canned goods without labels, crushed cans and other items.
"I'm here to show solidarity and let these people know they're not alone," Kalamazoo City Commission candidate Don Cooney said.
"I think we can do better than this. I don't think this is a reasonable solution," Cooney said Wednesday morning, expecting the arrival of police later to enforce the 5 p.m. deadline given by city officials.
We need a collective solution, Cooney said, involving input from people directly impacted, the people working with them and experts who have researched the issue.
Qianna Decker, another Kalamazoo City Commission candidate, was also there Wednesday morning and walked the grounds, talking about ideas for solutions, such as cleaning up the site and making it better for people to stay, or finding an alternate site.
Leander Rabe, founder of the Kalamazoo Coalition for the Homeless, criticized leaders at the city and other organizations for inaction. Rabe has proposed solutions, he said, but he and others have hit brick walls when working to get them approved.
Related: 'I don't know where I'm going to go,' a common theme of homeless at Kalamazoo encampment
Rabe also walked around the site Wednesday morning.
"There's no voice for these residents in the process," Rabe said. "So we see these community leaders arrogantly assuming things and making decisions (have) a total disconnect to what's happening on the ground. And any advocates for these people are ignored as well. Then there's a lack of creativity of considering and taking action on innovative solutions."
If residents at the camp are forced to move, he said, it adds to the stress people are already feeling.
Jim DeHollander Jr., who is homeless and living at the site, asked what the people there have done wrong to be kicked out. He said he has no idea where he is going once he is kicked off the site.
"I don't know where I'm going, either north or south," DeHollander said. "But, one way or another, I'm gonna' make it."
He can hunt and fish, and thinks he can get by if he has to leave. He had to figure out laundry and food Wednesday, he said.
"Since I've been here, I've had a stroke and I've had a heart attack," DeHollander said.
At the site Wednesday, a truck rumbled by with a strap attached to a large log, dragging it through the mud. The driver placed logs and large metal trash receptacles in front of the entrance and exits of the encampment.
The driver, Ian Valenzuela, 58, said he has been staying at the camp for almost a year on and off.
"If they're gonna try to remove us, I'm gonna make it so they can't get in here without a hassle," he said. "Until they sit down at the table and talk to us like humans, they can kiss my a--."
There are empty houses around, he said.
"Let's use them," Valenzuela said.
Moments later, Valenzuela, also known as "Mo," had to unblock the entrance as an ambulance arrived at the property.
DeHollander, clutching his chest, was helped into the ambulance and taken offsite.
Protesters lined up outside of the camp, holding signs showing support for the residents in fear of being evicted, as the ambulance departed.
Two people — Michael Richardson, 25, and Addie Taylor, 27 — were leaving the site. Richardson said they are trying to better their lives, and looking for the next step toward obtaining permanent housing.
"Once we leave here, we have nowhere else to go," Richardson said, while consolidating their luggage and placing it into a shopping cart.
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