Homeless individuals remain at Occupy encampment, officials say

Brandy McDonald, the co-owner of East End Oyster and Martini Bar, says finding feces near her business was the last straw.

One of her employees stepped in what she says was human feces in an alley behind East End Tuesday, McDonald wrote in an email to officials Friday.

McDonald said she believes the feces came from someone who has continued to camp out at Peace and Justice Plaza weeks after Occupy Chapel Hill ended its encampment.

Officials and members of the homeless community said several people — two of who declined to comment — are homeless but continue to camp in the plaza as political protesters.

They said those people were given temporary security by the Occupy encampment, but Occupy’s move has left them without services they need.

Town Councilwoman Penny Rich said while occupiers may have had good intentions, they could not satisfy some of the homeless’ basic requirements.

“Some of the homeless people camped out with them are very fragile,” she said. “They need professional services like mental evaluations, medicine and dental care.”

Rich also said that ordinances the town left unenforced during the Occupy encampment — which would prevent those in the plaza from remaining without a permit — need to be enforced.

The town didn’t enforce regulations that require permits for the use of public space and ban camping on public property overnight during the Occupy Chapel Hill/Carrboro movement.

“The town wanted to make Occupy feel that what they were doing is important, so they got away with camping there without a permit,” Rich said.

“But when they packed up to leave, the unintentional consequence is that the homeless people put their tents up and said they are political protesters.”

McDonald’s email also asked Chapel Hill Police Chief Chris Blue, Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt and Chapel Hill Town Council members to invoke the town’s ordinances.

Rich said the council will address the situation at Peace and Justice Plaza at an upcoming meeting.

In the meantime, the campers in the plaza remain out in the cold.

Jamie Rohe, the program coordinator for the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness, said it has been common for homeless people and travelers to stay in Occupy encampments across the country.

“It becomes a sort of safe place to sleep outdoors,” she said. “I think they probably get some food, some company, someone to talk to, some sympathy.”

Heather Epes, a Carrboro resident and events “bottom liner” for the Occupy Chapel Hill movement, said it was never the intention of Occupy to provide a lasting support system for the homeless, but they did engage with the homeless while camping out.

“It’s more to point out to other folks that you can interact with the homeless, and they can be part of your community,” she said.

Epes said she was aware the Occupy movement couldn’t provide all the services the homeless require, but she questions if Chapel Hill is doing enough to help the homeless.

“If they were getting what they needed, why would they come to us?” she said.

Rich said she advises the homeless still camped out at the plaza to go to the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service homeless shelter.

“There are basic human needs that people have and living on a street in a tent will not get you the services you need,” she said.

In the meantime, McDonald said she will be waiting for the town to take action.

After months of declining business due to the encampment, she said she hopes the council will consider its impact on the area.

“It’s dirty and uncomfortable and nobody wants to go there.”

Contact the City Editor at city@dailytarheel.com.