A homeless encampment at a church in Bangor, Maine, was cleared out after a neighboring private school complained to the city.
A row of four tents used to line a path on the property of St John’s Episcopal Church near Bangor's downtown, just one block from City Hall.
The church had an agreement with the homeless folks who had set up camp there, allowing them to stay as long as they followed certain rules.
Those rules, according to the Bangor Daily News, included a limit of seven people living in the camp, and they could only stay there from 7pm to 9am. The homeless individuals were also asked to keep the area clean and not to use or deal drugs there.
Reverend Jarrett Kerbel, who works as the rector at the church, told the outlet that the people staying at the camp were generally sticking to the agreement.
But on March 30, officials from John Bapst Memorial High School, which is situated directly behind the church, complained to the city.
The private school, where tuition costs $12,500 per year, has a dorm near the former homeless encampment that hosts international students. A school administrator cited safety concerns in the complaint to Bangor.
The city soon notified St John’s Episcopal Church that it was violating city ordinance by allowing the homeless encampment on its property, City Manager Carollynn Lear told the Bangor Daily News, and the camp was closed last week.
A homeless encampment at St John’s Episcopal Church in Bangor, Maine, was cleared out after a neighboring private school complained to the city
Last month, officials at John Bapst Memorial High School (pictured) cited safety concerns regarding its students in its complaint to the city
The homeless camp was closed last week, which the church's Rector, Jarrett Kerbel (pictured), lamented
Lear also told the outlet that the complaint from the private school was the only one the city had received regarding the church encampment. Even so, city code prohibits temporary shelters on non-residential property, and fines are issued to violators.
Reverend Kerbel lamented the mandate to clear out the encampment and told the Bangor Daily News: 'It’s only with relationships and love that people begin to heal, and that’s what Jesus did.'
Kerbel added that the camp's closure was not formally enforced by the city, but the church was threatened with fines that it could not afford.
'The second they threaten a fine, of course, they’re telling us it has to end,' Kerbel said.
Homeless encampments in Bangor are a frequent topic of concern among residents of the city.
Sergeant Jeremy Brock, a spokesperson for the city's police, told the Bangor Daily News that his department has received 110 reports this year related to a growing encampment in the city's Pierce Park and the public library nearby.
The park is just a few blocks from St John’s Episcopal Church, and some of the homeless people who were kicked out of that property have moved to the camp there.
Brock said that Bangor officials' main strategy for addressing encampments is enforcing local codes that regulate outdoor camping.
John Bapst Memorial High School, where tuition costs $12,500 per year, is situated directly behind the church. A view of the side of the school building is pictured
The church's rector and a spokesperson for Bangor's police department described a kind of whack-a-mole enforcement by city officials when it comes to regulating homeless encampments. Tents at a camp that was cleared in December are pictured
Jay Brennan is the interim head of John Bapst Memorial High School. The school's complaint about the homeless encampment at the church was the only one received by Bangor officials
Brock and Reverend Kerbel described a kind of whack-a-mole strategy from the city when it comes to closing encampments, rather than a comprehensive policy that could address the problem in the long term.
'I really think we have all the right people and a lot of compassionate Bangorians so that we could probably do a good thing if we got it all lined up, and we got out of this kind of "react react react" mode,' Kerbel told the Bangor Daily News.
Late last year, the city spent nearly $120,000 to close and clean up its largest homeless encampment, called Tent City, which spanned about seven acres next to the airport and had around 100 people living there.
On December 22, the city closed another encampment near railroad tracks on the other side of Bangor.
St John’s Episcopal Church declined to comment when the Daily Mail reached out. Jay Brennan, the interim head of John Bapst Memorial High School, has also been reached for comment.