I just received texts from a homeless friend who lives in a camp near the site of the next phase of Greensboro’s Downtown Greenway. A number of homeless camps in the path of the Greenway were cleared prior to construction. Homeless people have been living on the heavily wooded property … > read more
A News & Record article about homeless camps in the path of the Downtown Greenway elicited the usual negative comments about homeless people. One of those who responded with truth (and grace) was a friend of mine, who’s been homeless in the past. The only experts on homelessness are people … > read more
In the city’s path Saturday, March 6, 2010 By Lorraine Ahearn GREENSBORO – Two paths converged in a not-so-distant wood this week: the $26 million Downtown Greenway, and a longtime homeless “tent city” in its way. Served notice that heavy equipment will soon be brought in for soil sampling, five … > read more
I wrote about the guys on the block (and more) for the News & Record: “When there’s nowhere to go,” by Michele Forrest; published Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009. It’s online here, and reposted below: My ministry partner, Audrie Keen, and I provide a street outreach to the homeless in Greensboro, … > read more
Good editorial in today’s News & Record: “Clearing out The Block”: Greensboro police last week stepped up loitering enforcement and effectively cleared the place known as “The Block.” Just like that. Through a series of 30-minute patrols, officers shooed away the clusters of mostly men who routinely gather at the … > read more
Two days ago, I wrote about “the block” at Lee and Eugene Streets being empty. The block is a long-time gathering spot where folks, many of them homeless, are known to loiter and drink. A friend, who catches a bus just down the sidewalk, had contacted me to tell me … > read more
A friend contacted me yesterday to tell me that police were no longer allowing people to stand on “the block,” a well-known and long-time gathering spot at the corner of Lee and Eugene Streets near the homeless shelter, soup kitchen and health clinic. Traditionally, most of the people who stood … > read more
“Whether they go is not an option; how and when they go is up to them.” A source tells me that construction on the next phase of the Downtown Greenway could begin as soon as mid-November. Installation of traffic lights on Lee Street could be completed by the end of … > read more
Brian Clarey visited the Freeman Mill homeless camps and wrote a powerful story for the 10/07/2009 edition of YES! Weekly. Read “Street Level” online here. Some quotes, with my notes: “The tobacco has kept me from killing a couple a people,” [Cotton] says, “including myself.” When we visit the camps, … > read more
Be sure to read Lorraine Ahearn’s News & Record article, “Benches highlight a bigger problem”, which begins like this: “The location of artistic benches, which were removed from the Downtown Greenway on Friday after neighbors complained, looked good on paper but ignored some basic urban topography. Just a stone’s throw … > read more