With a broom in one hand and a dustpan in the other, Stanley Brzozowski spends part of each day sweeping up around the homeless encampment where he lives. “If you look at other people’s places, you will see syringes, broken glass, beer bottles,” Brzozowski said. “There is none of that here.”
The residents of this encampment, under the Metra tracks where Fulton meets Milwaukee Avenue, think they have something special. All of their shelters are uniform, insulated, and equipped with battery powered lanterns. They were paid for not by the City, but by businessman Andy Robledo who says each one cost him more than $400. “I thought people deserve better than this,” he said.
“I could build it back better and give them something that holds heat and gives them some dignity,” Robledo said.
But now Robledo worries that the residents of this encampment may lose their shelters after notices went up on the walls of the viaduct about a street cleaning program scheduled for Nov. 3.
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Along with the notices, many of the tents also were tagged with red notices warning them that their homes could be removed.
The notices read: ”Item may be discarded.”
They cite a city ordinance that prohibits storing personal property within public way. One resident said there were fears of notices from the city being placed on the tents.
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Robledo calls the notices “heinous and criminal.”
A statement from the Department of Family and Support Services said the department is working with Streets and Sanitation on the cleaning.
“It is important to note that no resident is being relocated as part of this project. Individuals can return to their location with their property.”
Dutra said Housing is the ultimate goal and pathway out of homelessness. Since 2020, he said DFSS invested $35 million to launch the Expedited Housing Initiative (EHI), which has moved over 1,800 households into housing from shelters or encampments.
But Brzozowski looks around at the shelters, lined up neatly under the viaduct and appreciates the boost they provide.
“This gives you one step closer to wanting to better yourself,” he said. He calls the small tents used by many homeless people “miserable.”
Of his tent, Brzozowski said, “This gives me hope to get a job and get on my feet and get an apartment and stuff.”
