Local beautification organization leading cleanup of abandoned homeless encampment this weekend
BATON ROUGE - The non-profit organization Keep Tiger Town Beautiful will be leading a cleanup effort over the weekend at a homeless encampment behind a FedEx building on Coursey Boulevard.
The encampment has been in different spots over the past few months. For a time, the encampment was near the Home Depot on Coursey at Cedarcrest Avenue. Recently, it was on private property near FedEx's shipping center a few thousand feet away.
According to FedEx, those living at the encampment would take items like clothes and beds from the nearby Goodwill and Salvation Army at night.
FedEx showed WBRZ the encampment that had just been abandoned.
The encampment was in the woods near a creek by their shipping center. Joe Campbell, a homeowner near the creek, said he has seen people from the encampment in his neighborhood.
"We've had a couple incidents where people, I'm not sure if they're homeless or not, but one of them was an attempted break-in into the home and another was a lady who came into the subdivision with her hand out begging for money," Campbell said.
People living on nearby Paddock Avenue and Preakness Road were split on how the city should deal with the homeless. Some said they'd like to see them moved out, but others said the city should do more to help them.
Trending News
Representatives from Keep Tiger Town Beautiful said they've offered the people of the encampment help before, but they were refused.
"Downtown there's a homeless shelter for men and women and I think there's one over near the airport. And I think they need to take advantage of that stuff," Campbell said.
The East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office is also helping with this effort, going one time during the week and once more on Saturday to make sure the encampment is clear of people before the cleanup begins.
Keep Tiger Town Beautiful says they are always asking for more volunteers. Their cleanup will start on Saturday at 7 a.m. on Coursey Court.