Homeless encampment on Pittsburgh's North Side returns, raising concerns
Over the past three years, Pittsburgh and Allegheny County have been successful in clearing several large homeless encampments and providing shelter and housing to those who lived in them. However, a new encampment has popped up on the city's North Side after the last one was cleared in April 2023.
"It's just become this go-to place within the homeless community," said Jerrel Gilliam, the executive director of the Light of Life Rescue Mission.
There are a dozen new tents on a stretch of grass and six or seven along the nearby railroad tracks. They're largely hidden from sight, and visitors to the NFL draft later this month are unlikely to notice. But given its proximity to the Sarah Heinz House and its after-school program, community leaders like Gilliam said it's not a safe or acceptable spot for people experiencing homelessness, and especially the alleged drug dealers and human traffickers who prey upon them.
"We know there are negative actors that are victimizing the people who are homeless there, and those who victimize the homeless can also victimize the innocent people that are going to Sarah Heinz House," Gilliam said. "So, we need to come alongside as a community and say this is not acceptable here."
In the past three years, both the city and county have found success in addressing and removing large encampments that lined the river trails. Using outreach workers and homeless advocacy organizations, the city and county have given each unhoused person counseling, health care services and a credible offer of shelter or housing — along with a deadline to vacate.
"In time, all of them usually take the help," Gilliam said.
The city and county will likely follow the same protocol, which would mean eventually taking down the North Side encampment and then enforcing no camping laws.
But at this point, they're not saying. Declining an on-camera interview, the O'Connor administration would only issue the following statement: "The city of Pittsburgh is continually working with our partners and communities to find housing solutions. We are aware of the encampment and will be working with Allegheny County."
