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SALT LAKE CITY – Salt Lake County authorities cleared about 100 people from a homeless encampment at 546 S. 700 West Thursday. The county health department said it was something it had needed to do for some time, but it waited until it made sure the homeless had a new place to go.
The day started with police warning the residents over a loudspeaker, then a front loader and garbage trucks arrived.
Police arrested some residents.
"There's a lot of broken people. This is breaking us more," said encampment resident Stacey Johnson.
The people who lived there in tents and makeshift shelters called it Fort Pioneer. Johnson said the entire group maintained the area.
"We keep a clean camp. Everybody here has an assignment on camp," Johnson said. "We don't like to call it a camp. We call it an outdoor apartment community."
The health department had many concerns.
"This is the normal stuff; garbage, trash, feces, needles, and enhanced crime in this area. And so it had just reached a public health issue where we had to take action," said Dale Keller from the Salt Lake County Department of Health.
He said the department gave residents a 48-hour warning and made sure space was available at the Weigand Center and additional overflow centers.
Some activists at the scene questioned whether the space was really there for all of the cleared residents.
"These are citizens. These are humans and they're being treated like garbage," said Barbara Roller, one of the activists.
Johnson said she and many others did not want a cot in a shelter. She says a small tent city is more of a home.
"Utah prides itself on family, society, love, and religion," Johnson said. "Where is that for us right now?"
Keller said before the department moved forward, it confirmed there would be more than 100 beds available for the people it cleared from the encampment.
He added about 10% of the campers heeded the health department's warning and cleared out before Thursday morning.
