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NORRISTOWN — Dozens showed up to a Norristown Municipal Council meeting earlier this month with the purpose of voicing concerns about area homelessness encampments, as the situation appeared to hit a tipping point.
A handful of individuals returned on Tuesday, standing outside the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit before the start of the evening’s council work session.
“I sense there’s some momentum, and so by being here tonight, we can keep that momentum going,” said West Norriton Township resident Jeff Johnson.
“Council member Heather Lewis asked us to be back,” said Norristown resident David McMahon. “She wanted more attendance at the meetings, so, happy to help.”
“I wanted to support this team in their demonstration, but I didn’t want to demonstrate,” said Michael Kingsley, of Norristown. “I think the time for fighting is over and I think we need to start working together to come up with some solutions.”
Kingsley runs the Coalition to Save Lives, and has been active in conversations surrounding homelessness in the county seat. The topic drew interest from a number of advocates focusing on housing and homelessness such as The Montco 30% Project and the Here for Us Coalition in Montgomery County.
“I’ve come back because we’re still concerned about what is going on here, the fact that people are being labeled and being threatened. This is not good,” said Cheltenham Township resident Bill England, who also serves as the coalition’s campaign director. “We still are concerned about the sweeps. We’ve heard there wouldn’t be sweeps but we have concerns about that.”
Rumblings about the potential need for about a dozen people to vacate a 3,000-square-foot stretch of land just beyond the Schuylkill River Trail owned by PECO had been circulating in recent months. The municipality issued a response prior to the June 6 council meeting, declaring “there has never been a discussion of a city-wide sweep.”
“There was never a discussion that the municipality would engage on this or any other site as part of a city-wide sweep,” the statement read. “However, as with any other property owner, in the interest of public safety, the Norristown Police Department will be present to ensure that any transition of the unhoused off private property will be undertaken peaceably and respectfully with all parties involved.”
Officials have long attributed several reasons to the area’s uptick in homelessness including the lack of affordable housing stock, the COVID-19 pandemic and displacements from the remnants of Hurricane Ida back in September 2021.
Additionally, the Coordinated Homeless Outreach Center, a 50-bed homeless shelter and resource center situated on the grounds of the Norristown State Hospital closed last June, amid the acquisition of 68 acres of state land to the municipality. It served as the largest and only shelter for single adults in Montgomery County. Hoteling services have been made available, but no new facility has been acquired.
Heightened response surrounding homelessness in Norristown stemmed from a June 3 article published in the Philadelphia Inquirer, featuring alleged remarks made by Municipal Council President Thomas Lepera that pertained to plans to deal with the area’s homeless encampments. It also referenced alleged comments about busing homeless individuals to Villanova University in Delaware County. Lepera has denied making those comments.
Response from the published report spread on social media, and resulted in heightened attendance at the June 6 council meeting. Remarks from Lepera and a lengthy public comment portion followed shortly after, with participation from advocates, area residents and concerned citizens.
“I think folks are talking president Lepera’s comments out of frustration to mean literal fact, and I think we’re all adults, and I think we should know better to use our common sense, and see his frustration, and as a cry to have more folks at the table having these conversations,” Council Vice President Heather Lewis told MediaNews Group following Tuesday’s session.
Demonstrators had differing opinions after taking time to reflect on the June 6 meeting.
“I agree to some part with the town council,” Kingsley said. “I think that the issue doesn’t have to just sit here in Norristown.”
“I think there needs to be a series of shelters in other towns, and that we need to make our services mobile so we can get out, and then I think we need to work on the folks that really won’t go to a shelter anyway.”
McMahon was not satisfied by the council’s response.
“Not at all. Not at all,” he said, adding “because there’s nothing concrete and tangible.”
McMahon called on leadership to do more, offering several suggestions which he said could lead to solutions including cultivating more affordable housing stock and increasing accessibility and mobility to needed services.
“The flashpoint right now is over the encampments, but it is all part of deeper structural problems, and there’s a lot that could be done by the county —they have a huge role to play here— and there’s plenty that Norristown could be doing as well,” McMahon said.
Others emphasized the corresponding issues that fall under the umbrella of homelessness.
“There are really difficult problems here, but then there are some simple ones like cleaning up the trash,” he said.
Johnson, and his wife, Sherry, often ride their bikes along the Schuylkill River Trail bike path and said they’ve noticed nearby trash over the past several months. Sherry has entered into the citizen-driven advocacy sphere to try and help the homeless in Norristown. She’s visited encampments, volunteered at the Norristown Hospitality Center and attended government meetings to bring awareness to the issues.
“I’m here … just to show our presence and that people care,” she said. “I think the more people that show up to the meetings, the more attention everything’s going to get…”
Also in the meeting’s audience was 63-year-old Cheryl Spaulding. Spaulding had been staying in a tent for nearly a year in a wooded area just beyond the path of the Schuylkill River Trail.
Spaulding was able to find housing, and she moved into her new apartment in Norristown on Tuesday. Her adult son, also homeless with mental health issues, has received assistance, she said. While she was grateful her personal situation has improved, she said she wanted to come to the work session to shed light on all those still living outside.
“If that does’t tell a story that is bigger than Norristown, then, I don’t know what does,” Lewis told MediaNews Group. “So I’m glad that she came, and shared that tidbit. Happy that she’s in housing, but it took her a year.”
“So here you have an elderly woman, and her adult disabled son, living in a tent that I’m sure the county gave them,” she continued. “How do you give an elderly woman a tent? How do you not find them housing immediately? Elderly woman lived in a tent for a year. That’s shameful.”
Lepera was not present during Tuesday’s work session, and Norristown resident Jane Pekol expressed her frustrations with the council president in his absence.
“I do want the council to renounce this behavior,” she said. “I want to know once and for all is there a Norristown-Villanova partnership?”
“It’s unfortunate that council president wasn’t here to answer the questions or engage with the constituents directly,” Lewis told MediaNews Group following Tuesday’s work session. “There is no Norristown Villanova partnership.”
While homelessness is evident countywide, concentrations are more visible in Norristown and Pottstown. With a concentration of social services agencies in the two boroughs, they often bear the responsibility.
Lewis maintained that “historically,” Norristown, Pottstown and Lower Merion Township have been the main areas that “have had conversations about how to deal with the unhoused population, and are actively doing things to deal with the situation.”
“So to villainize Norristown for being frustrated that the decisions that we’re making that are specifically to benefit our residents, and still try to help the unhoused population that’s here is unfortunate … because I think people should recognize that we have been at the forefront of this the entire time.”
“I’ve been on council eight years,” she continued. “I’ve been doing this work for 20 years, and the situation hasn’t changed, and the players haven’t changed.”
While McMahon and attendants of Tuesday’s session hoped to show a “physical presence,” others stressed that participation is key when trying to foster grassroots advocacy efforts. They also remained hopeful for a continued dialogue.
“Well, certainly it’s helpful to have compassionate members of the public involved. It’s easy to say well everybody is against something, but that is not the case,” England said. “We’re trying to demonstrate there are people who support helping those with the greatest needs.”
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