A no trespass order issued today to individuals living in a collective of tents in Northampton, Massachusetts, wasn't enforced.
Alan Wolf, chief of staff for Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra said it was "not safe" to do so because of the number of protestors that showed up to support those who established the camp.
A few hours after city officials and protestors left the location, at least seven tents remained set up with pairs of sneakers at the entrances to some. Bicycles and personal belongings were outside the tents.
It wasn't clear if anyone was at the site; no one responded after several requests for an interview.
Signs near the tents say "Camping is Not Permitted." They direct people to call the city's Division of Community Care for "housing and other resource support."
But it's the lack of affordable housing or available shelters that brought people here, according to the online media outlet The Shoestring.
Northampton officials say individuals in the encampment were told several times over the last few weeks they would have to leave the site; they were given extensions — Oct. 7 was the most recent deadline.
Northampton Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra said she hopes people will leave on their own. She acknowledged the significant need for housing and that in general if people are staying in tents on available land, safe for them and the surrounding community, they try to "leave them in peace."
But the location off of Cook Avenue is not that place she said.
"Unfortunately sometimes when there are land use issues or health and safety issues, campers must relocate," Sciarra said.
The parcel, the site of the former Moose Lodge, was acquired by the city in 2022, Sciarra said. The property was divided to create additional parking and access to the Broad Brook-Fitzgerald Lake Greenway Conservation area and to build affordable or mixed income housing.
The city first became aware of the encampment in September Sciarra said. A land surveyor was not able to do work they had been contracted for — because of the tents.
"This location is just not a location where people can camp, and we offer whatever assistance [we can] to help find a better spot and whatever additional assistance is needed," Sciarra said.
That assistance would come from Northampton's Division of Community Care, established to connect unhoused people to resources and possibly housing. Sciarra described the DCC as Northampton's "un-armed first responders."
Sciarra wouldn't say precisely when the no trespass order would be enacted.
"We really hope that people don't need to be removed from the land," Sciarra said, confirming that law enforcement would be involved if people did not heed the order.
Homelessness is an issue that Northampton has had for a long time Sciarra said.
"This is not something that municipalities necessarily have funding to deal with, but we recognize that there is significant need, which is why we created the DCC last year," Sciarra said, to help meet the needs of vulnerable residents.
The city is also in the process of creating a "community resilience hub." Sciarra said it would be a type of community day center for people who are unhoused "to meet their needs, whether it's laundry or showers or lockers. It also would be a place for meals."
Overall, Sciarra said, systemic issues and competing needs make this an incredibly hard time for people.
