Homeless encampment in Barrington ordered to clear out
Three men in Veterans Park have until the end of the month
Three homeless men living in the woods behind the Bayside YMCA have 30 days to clear out.
On Wednesday, March 1, Barrington Police officers hiked into the Veterans Park woods and served …
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Homeless encampment in Barrington ordered to clear out
Three men in Veterans Park have until the end of the month
Three homeless men living in the woods behind the Bayside YMCA have 30 days to clear out.
On Wednesday, March 1, Barrington Police officers hiked into the Veterans Park woods and served vacate notices to the three men. Barrington Police Chief Michael Correia said the men have 30 days to move out of the park.
“It wasn’t adversarial. We’ve given them a month. We’re going to try to assist them,” Chief Correia said. “The concern is that it (the encampment) is increasing.”
Barrington Police have known about a man living in the park for months. On Jan. 31, a resident called police and reported that while walking his dog in the Veterans Park woods he was approached by a man who had set up camp there. At that time, police began trying to find housing for the man living in the woods.
But on Feb. 22, police charged the man, a 27-year-old former Warren resident, with possession of a schedule I to V controlled substance. Police said they found methamphetamine in the man’s possession.
“It’s a public safety issue,” Chief Correia said. “There was methamphetamine there… It’s a public safety issue as well as a complex social issue.
“We can’t turn a blind eye. We’re going to try to assist them.”
The chief said that as of Monday, March 6 the men were still living in the Veterans Park woods. He said that if the men do not move out of the park by the end of the 30-day period, local officials will dismantle the encampment. He said the police would not throw the items out. “If it came to that point, we would dismantle it, but we’d have to save the items.”
The chief said there are a couple of tents pitched in the encampment. He said the tents are located on the red trail inside the park.
The department worked with the town solicitor to draft the vacate notices, which all three men signed. Police have also contacted House of Hope, a social service agency that works with homeless people.
“We’re going to try to deal with it in as compassionate a way as possible,” Chief Correia said.
