Jamestown mayor’s office gives update on ‘homelessness crisis’
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Jamestown mayor Kim Ecklund’s office released a statement Friday saying that they have taken steps to manage a “homelessness crisis” in the city.
A state of emergency was issued July 25, claiming that hundreds of “unauthorized” people were creating unsafe conditions by camping on public and private land. Such conditions included feces, trash, and dirty needles littering the ground, according to the mayor’s office.
The mayor’s office claimed that city resources, such as police and sanitation crews, have been spread thin by an influx of homeless people. However, those staying in encampments said they felt like they had been forgotten.
“It’s crazy,” said Janie Gens, who struggles with homelessness. “The Riverwalk, there’s always people down there, it’s always trash. (If) we have some place to put the homeless people, they wouldn’t be destroying, ya know, the land.”
Gens said transitional housing is necessary for there to be change in the city.
In an update released Friday, the mayor’s office said they have helped individuals move from the encampments into “safer environments.”
Ecklund’s office says recovery funding is advancing and that they are working to expand capacity with psychiatric “hospital-based providers.” They say addiction treatment medications are expected to become more readily available later this year through a mobile medication unit.
As of Friday, there has been one encampment cleanup in the area of Ransom Alley.
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Kayleigh Hunter-Gasperini joined the News 4 team in 2024 as a Digital Video Producer. She is a graduate of Chatham University.
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