Tensions were high in Chicago's north Mayfair neighborhood Friday morning, where activists and park district officials clashed during the clearing of a tent encampment in Gompers Park.
The clearing has been planned for a while and is in response to what the city says are complaints from neighbors and general safety concerns over the structures, called yurts, which are often heated with smokestacks or barrel drums.
Ald. Samantha Nugent of Chicago's 39th Ward told NBC Chicago that firefighters have been called to the encampment 36 times since January 2024.
"Earlier this month, we had three fires within five days at the encampment," she said. "The conditions are just horrific."
Nugent also said there have been two dog attacks and reports of drug use in the area, affecting other community members use of the park including for little league.
An Accelerated Moving Event, or AME, is scheduled for March 5.
At that point, the city's Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) told NBC Chicago that residents will be connected to support services and shelter options all at once.
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Friday was specifically about clearing the structures. Everyone living in the yurts was offered shelter if they chose to go, said Andrea Chatman, Deputy Commissioner for Homeless Services at DFSS.
"We've identified approximately 20 individuals who are residing in Gompers Park," Chatman said. "Three individuals were recently connected to shelter. And they will be in shelter and continue on their housing journey for as long as they need those supports."
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Chatman said the location of shelter depends on bed space. Support services range from medical care to substance abuse counseling and benefit help for services such as SNAP.
Chatman said a DFSS representative was on site Friday morning, and that DFSS provides outreach at Gompers Park four days a week.
"Our team is always going to be on site to provide that engagement around shelter, connect folks to long-term housing support," she told NBC 5.
NBC Chicago spoke with one woman who asked we not share her name. She's been living in Gompers Park for about two years and said she was asleep Friday morning when the clearing started.
"I was protecting my stuff. And they put everything in the garbage," she said.
Joe Castello, who lives nearby and also works as a paramedic, came to support individuals living in the encampment. He said the morning felt disorganized.
"No warming resources, not even a CTA bus or anything put in place," he said, noting the frigid temperatures.
A Salvation Army vehicle was later seen on site Friday, with DFSS expected to continue to provide outreach at the park for those in need of support services.
The woman we spoke with said she did not want to give the city her name and didn't feel comfortable going with them, adding that she'll be getting a new tent.
Restore Gompers Park, a community group advocating for the space, issued the following statement:
“The Restore Gompers Park Coalition has been disheartened by the confusion and chaos at the park this week. We don’t want to see the unhoused in Gompers Park be used as political pawns; the Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) and partnering organizations – the experts in their field – should not be impeded as they do their work to provide housing solutions and wraparound services to the unhoused. Since summer 2024, the Coalition has continued to advocate to elected officials to provide an Accelerated Moving Event (AME), which have been proven to be successful in moving people from the street into housing.
According to DFSS, data from previous AMEs has shown that 94 percent of participants found an apartment, with nearly 79 percent of participants still housed five months later. We push for these solutions because the reality is Gompers Park is no place to live – people should not have to survive in a tent in the harsh winter weather, relying on dangerous heat sources that have started fires time and time again, and without restroom facilities – it is inhumane and unsanitary, and we know our city can do better for these individuals. We anticipate the March 5 AME and hope city departments and supporting organizations will be able to come together without interruption to bring a much-needed solution to the Gompers Park encampment.”
