A volunteer group in Lehighton is in dire need of a new home to house the homeless population.

The Lehighton Cold Weather Station held a press conference Friday afternoon at Saints Peter and Paul Church in Lehighton to address the issue.

Grace Clayton and Jack Finnegan, and Esther Meier spoke about the current status of the Lehighton Cold Weather Station’s efforts to address homelessness in Carbon County.

Clayton said that members of the Lehighton Cold Weather Station along with volunteers and unsheltered guests recently completed a cleanup at the former encampment in Lehighton, known by many as Tent City. The property is located near the Lehigh River behind Dunbar Bottling Co. Inc.

She said the request came from Sanjay Patel, the owner of Dunbar Bottling.

Clayton said several dumpsters were filled, and added that among the items discovered were clothing, earrings, a journal, books, bibles, Christmas decorations, Easter decorations.

“The area is pretty much cleaned up,” Clayton said. “There are gaps in services for people, which means they have no place to live.”

Finnegan said that there are around 800,000 homeless people in the United States, and added, “The number one cause is the cost of affordable housing.”

He added that mental health challenges, the closure of former state hospitals, and chemical dependency seem to be the largest cause as to why those people are being unsheltered.

“Eighty percent of the people we see are from this area,” Finnegan said. “They go back (several) generations.”

Losing site

Meier said their chief concern is that they won’t be able to utilize Ebenezer Church, 119 S. Third St., Lehighton.

“We talked to the borough and zoning, and the amount of work it would cost to bring it up to code would be astronomical,” Meier said. “We were hoping we could use Ebenezer this year, but it just hasn’t worked out because of building issues.”

Contacted after the briefing, borough Mayor Ryan Saunders confirmed the reason is due to building and code issues.

“We’re willing to do whatever we can within our means to cooperate and work with them,” Saunders said.

In the meantime, Meier said they are exploring all their options.

“We’re doing a lot of praying; searching different possibilities, maybe collaborating with people in different towns,” Meier said. “We talked with Family Promise; we’re frantically trying to find a place.”

Finnegan said they have a cast of up to 60 volunteers, and added they have the means to provide meals, as well as a large stash of cots.

“All we need is a building,” Finnegan said. “Personal hygiene needs are difficult and sought after.”

Clayton said they are in search of a place “where these people can safely get through the winter.”

“It’s quite unsettling having to think of the people having to live outside in the winter, and that people may freeze,” Clayton said. “We have 73 unique individuals who are unsheltered, and where will they stay this winter?”

Finnegan said it can be a matter of life and death, noting “We have lost people who have literally died in sleeping bags.”

Clayton said that Saunders “recently reached out to us to let us know we would not be able to use it (Ebenezer Church), so we don’t actually have any locations.”

“We’re praying, trying to look at different locations; we’ve called a meeting for faith members (and) we’re hoping out of that, something will come,” Clayton said. “In speaking the mayor, he felt it needs to be a broader base of people; we’re willing to meet with them, (and) we reached out to the (Carbon County) commissioners (looking to address this).”

People in need

Clayton added, “Every week, we’re seeing new people.”

Of the homeless in the area, it was noted that between 20 to 30 percent are females, and that in general, the homeless range in age from 18 to 78, including a few with jobs.

“A lot of people are not able to sustain jobs because of a lack of transportation, no where to stay, now where to take a bath,” Clayton said. “The impact of homelessness on the whole community; it affects tourism, house prices, employment opportunities.”

Finnegan stressed that a building to house the homeless is the most pressing need as the cooler months begin to approach.

“We need a heated shell with a couple of (flushing toilets),” Finnegan said. “We have the cots, we have the know-how.”

Clayton said they will continue their efforts to find a suitable location to house the homeless.

“We will work with local officials,” Clayton said. “We don’t need to put hurdles up to make it harder than it needs to be.”

Last month, Lehighton Borough Council said it would like to engage other communities throughout Carbon County to assist with the homeless situation.

At that meeting, a resident questioned borough council about what’s going on with the homeless people sleeping in various areas throughout the borough.

Saunders noted at that time that the borough has already partnered with the Carbon County Homeless Task Force.

As part of his report, Saunders stated he’s received several complaints about the homeless situation, and that he and borough police Chief Troy Abelovsky met with the Lehighton Cold Weather Station.

Saunders said after that meeting that the Lehighton Cold Weather Station reached out to him to raise more awareness to what they’re doing and what they’re seeing.

He said at that time his goal is not only to raise awareness that it is a growing problem in the county, but also to encourage the other municipalities to get involved.

Saunders said perhaps that could mean some type of involvement with neighboring municipalities such as Jim Thorpe or Palmerton.

A plan to eradicate Tent City in Lehighton began the morning of July 29 as Carbon County officials teamed with borough officials to clean house at the encampment along the Lehigh River.

Tent City is an area near the Lehigh River where several people have taken up residence in makeshift tents and structures.

Carbon County Commissioners Chairman Mike Sofranko said at that time law enforcement and the sheriff’s department went there a few months ago and handed out brochures to ensure people were aware of the agencies they can contact in the county.

He said that on July 29, they had an outside group come in with a dumpster, and noted they took anywhere from 6 to 8 dumpsters of garbage out of Tent City, and added they were going to keep cleaning it up the rest of that week.

The homeless encampment was broken up last year when Carbon County Commissioners had the sheriff’s deputies cleared the site along the Lehigh River between Weissport and Lehighton.

At one point, about 50 people stayed there.

The area in question is owned by Carbon County, but located in Lehighton Borough.

The borough has a camping ordinance that has been in effect and will continue to be enforced.

The borough continues to see a swell of homeless people taking up residence within borough limits.