BANGOR — Bangor’s homeless encampment is getting shut down, but some residents are still looking for a place to go.
“This is not my choice, I don’t choose to live here,” said resident Gabrielle Drew. “But it’s a place to go instead of sleeping on the sidewalk or sleeping behind a business.”
After Friday, anyone accessing the encampment behind Penobscot Plaza is at risk of criminal trespassing, according to a notice that residents said they received from the city.
“You will not be able to have any belongings or trespass or railroad property,” a notice from the office of the city manager reads, in part. “In addition, you will not be able to walk through the Penobscot Plaza to access adjacent city property.”
That same notice also provides information about warming centers and tells residents that they can be provided with storage containers, transportation and other assistance.
CSX, the railroad that owns a portion of the land the encampment sits on, is asking residents to vacate. City Manager Carollynn Lear told councilors Monday that the railroad would be sticking to the December 19 deadline.
“With trains operating through the region, railroad right of way and railroad property can be extremely dangerous, and entering without permission is illegal,” CSX Director of Media Relations Austin Staton said in a statement. “Trespassers can be prosecuted, and they risk the possibility of serious, even fatal, injury.”
This comes after weeks of city meetings on what to do about the encampment.
Drew told Spectrum News that she has been at the encampment since it first began in August.
Now, she said she has received a housing voucher but still has nowhere to go.
“I’m scared,” said Drew. “I’m scared, I’m stressed out, I’m frustrated.”
The city and community partners have met and spoken with residents of the encampment, in addition to placing signs around the area and passing out information to residents about the clearing.
That’s according to a city spokesperson, who also stressed that the city’s goal is to help find solutions for those struggling to leave the encampment.
Encampment residents said members of the Bangor Community Action Team also visited the site and informed them of the deadline.
However, Drew said she still feels that communication has been lacking.
“We’re told one thing, and then we’re doing exactly what we’re told we have to do in order to stay here,” said Drew. “And now we’re told: ’It doesn’t matter, you’ve got to leave anyways.”
Drew added that the railroad encampment has become a supportive community for those who live there.
“We are one big family. Some of us don’t have anybody blood-related,” said Drew. “We help each other out. We have one woman we call ‘Ma,’ she’s like everybody’s mom.”
A spokesperson for the Bangor Police Department said police have not yet been asked to remove people from the encampment.
However, a copy of a letter shared with Spectrum News by an encampment resident states that CSX did give the department permission to do so.
“CSX grants the Bangor Police Department permission to access CSX property, to take lawful police action, and to take all steps to remove and remediate persons and property, as requested,” the letter from the CSX Transportation Department to Bangor police reads, in part.
On Friday, an individual in a Bangor Department of Health and Community Services vehicle could be seen giving a new tent to an encampment resident. This individual declined to comment.
However, a city spokesperson said that city councilors want to make sure residents have new tents in case theirs are damaged during cleanup.
A cleanup crew from CSX will be at the site Monday, according to Staton. City staff were at the site Thursday as part of an outreach effort and intend to be there on Monday.
It’s not clear how many residents are still at the site.
Bangor Director of Public Health and Community Services Jennifer Gunderman estimated that the encampment was down to around 12 tents as of Monday. However, Drew estimates there are still between 25 and 30 people living at the site.
