Advocates for homeless to hold protest at Baltimore City Hall
By AMY KAWATA
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BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A protest continues Tuesday in downtown Baltimore over the city’s lack of affordable housing.
For more than two weeks now, advocates and residents of a tent city under the Jones Falls Expressway have stood their ground after being told to leave for the city’s weekly farmer’s market.
Members of the homeless encampment and advocates say their needs are still not met, which is why they’ll be holding a peaceful protest taking their message directly to city leaders Tuesday morning. They’ll start on Saratoga Street at Gay street, where the encampment is, and walk over to City Hall.
The back and forth started a week ago when farmers’ market vendors showed up expecting to set up at their regular spots—which they paid for—only to find people who had set up tents.
Last Sunday, things got heated when Baltimore police showed up to clear out remnants of the encampment. Police allege one man tried to set himself on fire at the scene.
The Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services (MOHS) issued a statement last week saying in part that some demonstrators did accept outreach and shelter services after the forced relocation.
Homeless advocate Christina Flowers told WJZ the campers had only three hours to move. Most of them moved from the lot used for the market just to the other side of a wall there.
Flowers says the city’s negotiations with its homeless population have repeatedly failed—in part because the housing options available do not work for everyone.
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