City to clean up trash and makeshift shelters on sidewalks near Second Avenue Commons
For the past several months, bedding, trash and makeshift shelters have begun lining the sidewalks around Second Avenue Commons in Downtown Pittsburgh.
The building provides shelter and 92 beds for people in the region experiencing homelessness. But for months now, the sidewalks outside the Second Avenue Commons have become their own kind of encampment, where people congregate and sleep in makeshift shelters. The trash and the bedding have now spread along Second Avenue and down other blocks.
"We can't let go the way it is right now," said Lee Schmidt, the director of Pittsburgh Public Safety. "The mattresses and the belongings that are obstructing the sidewalk that remain there and any biohazard, we need to be able to clean up on a regular basis."
Second Avenue Commons is what's known as a low-barrier shelter, telling homeless people to come as they are, even if they have a partner, a pet or are currently using drugs or alcohol. Many suffer from addiction or mental illness. And as a result, police and EMS calls are a daily occurrence. Just this year, police have responded to 616 calls for service, resulting in 37 arrests, mostly for assault and overdoses.
"It's been a challenging site," Schmidt said. "There are a lot of people with complex issues and complex problems that aren't easy to solve."
It has also become a gathering spot for people who don't stay there or prefer to sleep outside. Schmidt says, as it has with other encampments, the city will post Second Avenue Commons with signs saying it plans to scoop up all garbage while directing those sleeping there to other shelters.
"We have to get them the help they need so they can make the right decisions to then get them into more supportive housing and then into more regular housing," Schmidt said.
The city and county say they will continue to work together to address the problems at Second Avenue, acknowledging that it will also be a work in progress.