Advocates and City Leaders Muddle over Options for Homeless

A chronic problem for most cities could be getting better in Central Arkansas, but homeless advocates and the city disagree over how to do it. Little Rock city leaders postponed plans to clean out over two dozen outdoor homeless camps around town, until after this weekend. A conference going on this week in Little Rock, helps people who help the homeless learn to do their jobs better. Many of them will be at the Homeless Outreach Day in North Little Rock on Saturday, when leaders hope to learn more information to develop a long-term solution. "It`s an overall approach that the city has to take to address it from a 10 year plan as well as the immediate safety issues in the camps," said Andre Bernard, Little Rock Housing and Neighborhood Programs. And the city disagrees with the homeless advocates on whether or not any other housing is available. "These people have no place to go. They can go in, clean out the camps, throw away what little the folks have, but this is their home," said Sandra Wilson, of the Supportive Housing Network. "If you look at trying to provide space for 200-300 individuals on any given night, there is space available," said Bernard. Homeless advocate Michael Stoops suggests other ways to handle the health and safety issues caused by the camps. "Why don`t we just put a portable toilet by the camps and some garbage cans, because the homeless people do not want to live in such conditions," but they have no other place to go, explained Stoops, of the National Coalition for the Homeless. Bernard says that would encourage the very problem they`re trying to solve. But as they all work toward a more long-term solution, the real issue may be whether the problem can be fixed at all. The Homeless Outreach Day is in North Little Rock on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The homeless will have the opporutnity to receive medical attention, food, clothing and advice on finding jobs and shelter. City leaders estimate about 200-300 homeless people are living in the camps, out of about 3,000 in Arkansas. There is no deadline for when they plan to begin the sweep.