Homeless camp cleanup fosters community

The city of Savannah welcomed in the month of March last Saturday with a community cleanup of two homeless camps beneath local overpasses.

Volunteers came together with residents of the camps to remove litter and debris from their campsites. Officers from the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department who are in contact with the homeless community say that residents of the camps are supportive and grateful for the improvement of their living conditions.

Partnerships have been fostered between a variety of agencies across Savannah to aid in the cleanup. The Public Information Office, the Citizen Office, SCMPD, universities, People Helping People, local churches and the Chatham-Savannah Authority for the Homeless volunteered for the homeless community to create a sanitary environment, one that residents have committed to sustaining.

“They’re people just like us. They probably had a minor set back and need help getting back on their feet,” says Savannah State University volunteer Chelsea Young.

Young and seven or eight others, including student Michele Edwards, came early Saturday morning on behalf of Enactus, a nation- wide organization that partners students and universities with corporations to develop community outreach programs. The organization provides opportunities for students interested in communal extracurricular activities and student leadership.

“This area has not been cleaned up in 25 years,” said Public Information Office Director Bret Bell. City representatives such as Bell have watched Savannah’s city limits expand, pushing the homeless community further and further away from major city centers. Camps like the one found beneath the I-16 overpass have developed along the fringes of the city, and without partnerships between city volunteers and members of the homeless community, the camps remain in a constant state of disarray.

Heather, a member of the camp beneath I-16 behind Dyson Field, volunteered as a representative of her community. She expressed that the homeless are “so grateful with everyone’s helping out. It’s our home, we don’t have an apartment or anything, but it’s our home. We have animals and we want to keep them healthy.”

With 17 dogs, nine of which being newborns, and three cats, the camp is filled to its maximum capacity.

“We are thinking about getting a fence and blocking the area so the animals can run around and not get in trouble,” Heather added.

With the campsite location neighboring SCAD’s freshman dorms, the importance of cleanliness affects both the homeless community, students, and the many visitors coming into the city from the Talmadge Bridge ramp.

The clean-up effort provided a volunteer opportunity many hope will enable the city of Savannah’s unification.

Gracie Wachtel