The City of Lowell’s CO-OP team descended along the banks of the Merrimack River this morning, as part of their ongoing outreach efforts targeted at homeless encampment and attempting to deliver services to those living in them.
The site visited today is located off Pawtucket Street, near the Middlesex Street Junction.
Vehicles from the Care In Reach, an initiative of the Kraft Center for Community Health and Mass General Brigham, in partnership with Lowell Community Health Center, we spotted driving onto the grass at the edge of the encampment around 9:30am.
They were followed shortly thereafter by a number of city and Lowell Police vehicles.
A person familiar with what was happening tells InsideLowell this morning marked the first step in the process, outreach, in which residents living there were offered services and notified of the city’s intent to clean up the location.
Today’s visit will be followed by the actual breaking down of the encampment at a future date and time by agencies from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Homeless encampments have been the focus of a number of recent social media posts from elected city officials, news outlets and members of the public. They were also discussed in depth during a recent Daily Pulse podcast featuring Teddy Panos and Lowell Sun reporter, Melanie Gilbert.
8 responses to “CO-OP Team Focusing on Merrimack River Encampment”
I wonder if the “services” are free hotel rooms,medical care and ebt cards with money on them?
Offer them all a decent bed in a jail thru the summer and fall and let them know this is illegal and will be punished by jail time during the nice sunner weather season. MANDATORY!
That will change behaviors ! Accept help or do jail time all summer.
What the city needs is more low income housing for these poor souls that can not afford high rents. They need help w food also. This is the reason they are encamping HELP! HELP! HELP! From the City
‘I wonder if the “services” are free hotel rooms,medical care and ebt cards with money on them?’ – ask Governor Healey, she has plenty of Healey’s heroes.
These encampments terrorize the beauty of the Merrimac River. Trash everywhere. Where do they got to bathroom? Please clean them up and monitor when they try to move back.
Nobody has a heart at all rent has doubled in the last 5 years nobody can afford the outrageous rents. Make more housing for poor people now.
I see the people from Pawtucket and Broadway
Street encampment Tom,s kwickmart they have tried to enter my truck while I was in the store and the manager chased that person away they are hiding out down there possible hiding from the law police need to get them to Middlesex st shelters
S
What it’s needed is more places for people living on the street to get help it’s not right to go and destroy the only place a.person has to go to get out of the rain and cold help them don’t keep hurting them