Norfolk Southern wants to see all the people living in Pottstown’s unhoused encampment known as “Tent City” gone from its property by January 2, writes Kenny Cooper for the WHYY.
The stretch of forest on the western edge of the borough has been home to as many as 30 people over the years. The encampment has a donated portable toilet and shower hidden behind a tarp.
On November 25, the company which owns the land taped yellow signs to trees ordering residents to leave.
The move is part of a broader organized effort to remove the encampment. Organizers will offer its current residents short-term housing at a nearby hotel.
Opportunity House, a Reading-based homeless service provider, is leading the intake efforts – made possible by local private funders and Norfolk Southern – at the encampment.
Modesto Fiume, executive director of Opportunity House, said the organization is happy to “lend some support to get through the winter,” and to work with “Pottstown’s other service providers in hopes of not just getting people out of the woods but headed toward health and productive lives.”
Read more about the Pottstown Tent City in the WHYY.
