Police and Rochester city workers are moving in Thursday to remove a homeless encampment that has grown up on Loomis Street off Joseph Avenue on the Northeast Side. (UPDATE: the encampment was removed with a bulldozer and city crews cleaned up the lot it was on of drug paraphernalia and debris).
The encampment has drawn complaints from neighbors and the church on the corner of Loomis Street and Clifford Avenue. There has been drug paraphernalia scattered about including needles, as well as heavy trash left by the occupants.
Gary Harding of the group Recovery All Ways says on Facebook that he’s organizing a peaceful gathering to help the homeless move their things. He says many are hooked on opioid drugs, and they want to help put a dent in the opioid epidemic in Rochester, talking to the homeless about how they can get treatment and try to break the cycle of addiction.