Police find homeless camp empty Monday morning, cleanup delayed

Springfield police officers entered the large homeless camp near Kearney and Glenstone Monday morning with plans to arrest anyone trespassing on the property but found no one there.

City workers had planned to clear the property this week, leaving only trees taller than six feet, but the property owner put a stop to that on Friday by requesting an administrative hearing on the cleanup. 

City spokesperson Cora Scott said that while the clearing of the property will be delayed, Springfield police will enforce the no trespassing ordinance on Monday as planned and will periodically check the site to ensure the homeless camp does not re-establish during the delay.

Once police had explored the woods and determined no one was there, employees from the nearby Walmart came onto the property to retrieve more than 30 shopping carts.

Citing increases in complaints from business owners and police calls for service to the area, city officials began working with the Ozarks Alliance to End Homelessness on the plan to evacuate the camp a few months ago.

Homeless people have camped there off and on for more than 30 years.

Last week, a multi-agency response center was set up in tents and trailers in the southeast corner of the Walmart parking lot. At the center, individuals were given immediate access to medical and mental health services, emergency shelter assessments, and help with obtaining IDs. People received meals and basic supplies.

More than 25 agencies participated in the response center, including  Burrell Behavioral Health, Salvation Army, One Door, The Kitchen, Inc., Convoy of Hope, and the Missouri Career Center.

Bringing service providers directly to a homeless camp is a new approach for the city. The response center will be replicated on a smaller scale when dealing with future homeless camps.

About 230 homeless people sought services at the response center last week. Of those, 90 individuals said they had been living in the camp.

Prior to initiating the response center, members of the alliance said they would be happy if 10 to 15 percent of the people accepted help. 

The alliance has temporarily expanded emergency shelter services in Springfield by working with agencies that already provide shelter like Safe to Sleep, Salvation Army, Victory Mission and The Kitchen, Inc.  

East Sunshine Church of Christ, which provides emergency cold weather shelter for men in the winter, has also agreed to provide emergency shelter for men and women through the end of June.

The expanded emergency shelter will continue through the end of June. During that time, former camp residents are to work with One Door to try to get into a permanent housing program.

The property owner, Rob Lurvey, has signed a letter of enforcement, giving police permission to enforce the no trespassing ordinance. The city plans to bill Lurvey for cleanup costs. Lurvey said last month he has no intentions of paying.