Current:Home > MarketsUnder the Boardwalk officials vow to address homelessness in Atlantic City -ProsperityStream Academy
Under the Boardwalk officials vow to address homelessness in Atlantic City
View
Date:2025-04-13 16:20:58
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — In a place with a long history of people living — and sometimes dying — under the Boardwalk, Atlantic City has launched an effort to address homelessness by preventing people from sleeping on public property and connecting them with shelter and services.
The effort comes only days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that municipalities can ban homeless encampments, something the city said would support its efforts to address homelessness.
It follows an April 19 fire that killed a man in a homeless encampment under the Boardwalk, months after another fire suspected of being started by homeless people burned a section of the boardwalk in front of Resorts casino. The damage has since been repaired.
“We cannot claim to be this world-class resort (if) we don’t handle the problems that the resort sometimes encounters,” said Mayor Marty Small, a Democrat.
The city is implementing plans by its Boardwalk Improvement Group, which includes using state funds to pay for workers, training and equipment to seek out homeless people and offer them help, including transportation back to where they came from.
But that offer is often rejected. Out of about 200 homeless people that city officials encountered since September, only five have accepted an offer to go back home, officials said.
Many others refuse help of any kind, said Jarrod Barnes, Atlantic City’s director of health and human services.
“When that happens, there is nothing we can do,” he said. “We can’t force them to accept help.”
A tour by city officials of places known to be where homeless people stay was only minutes old when they encountered a disoriented man sprawled across a sidewalk in the midday sun. An ambulance was called and he was taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation.
Not far away, in a vacant lot strewn with empty liquor bottles, two young women, who both described themselves as homeless, acknowledged having been assisted multiple times by city outreach teams.
Essence, who would not give her last name, said she was given a free stay at a motel by the city, but returned to the streets. At one point, she said, she lived in a homeless encampment under the Boardwalk, until police broke it up.
Tanisha, who also would not give her last name, said she had no idea where she would spend the night on Monday.
“We’re just trying to make a way, find a way,” she said.
But she acknowledged she and others living outdoors are not always ready to accept help.
“It’s really up to us to do what we got to do first,” she said. “The struggle is real.”
In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling, Atlantic City plans to introduce an ordinance in the coming weeks that would prohibit sleeping in public places. It could be adopted and put into place by September.
The outreach effort includes 10 full-time workers assigned to find and interact with people who are homeless, offering social services, a pathway into drug or alcohol rehab if needed, and a place to stay. Police assign officers to regularly patrol spots known as homeless gathering points, and police, fire department and public works officers have been trained on interacting with homeless people.
Small noted that some of the homeless encampments have shown signs of real ingenuity. Refrigerators and microwave ovens have been patched into jerry-rigged electrical connections.
And, he added, inhabitants at one encampment managed to tap into the hose of a line under the Boardwalk providing beer to a casino’s beachfront bar.
___
Follow Wayne Parry on X at www.twitter.com/WayneParryAC
veryGood! (768)
prev:Trump's 'stop
next:Travis Hunter, the 2
Related
- Chuck Scarborough signs off: Hoda Kotb, Al Roker tribute legendary New York anchor
- UN votes overwhelmingly to condemn US economic embargo on Cuba for 31st straight year
- Netanyahu has sidestepped accountability for failing to prevent Hamas attack, instead blaming others
- Alabama state Rep. Jeremy Gray announces bid for Congress in new Democratic-leaning district
- Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds
- 11 Essentials To Make It Feel Like Fall, No Matter Where You Live
- Khloe Kardashian’s Son Tatum Is Fast and Furious in Dwayne Johnson Transformation
- Michael Phelps and Pregnant Wife Nicole Reveal Sex of Baby No. 4
- Person accused of accosting Rep. Nancy Mace at Capitol pleads not guilty to assault charge
- Israel's war with Hamas leaves Gaza hospitals short on supplies, full of dead and wounded civilians
Ranking
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Ole Miss to offer medical marijuana master's degree: Educating the workforce will lead to 'more informed consumer'
- Looking to invest? Here's why it's a great time to get a CD.
- Washington State 4-year-old boy attacked, killed by family dog on Halloween, police say
- SFO's new sensory room helps neurodivergent travelers fight flying jitters
- Predictions for NASCAR Cup Series finale: Odds favor Larson, Byron, Blaney, Bell
- US to send $425 million in aid to Ukraine, US officials say
- Indiana attorney general reprimanded for comments on doctor who provided rape victim’s abortion
Recommendation
Tarte Shape Tape Concealer Sells Once Every 4 Seconds: Get 50% Off Before It's Gone
Disney to purchase remaining stake in Hulu for at least $8.61 billion, companies announce
A man killed a woman, left her body in a car, then boarded a flight to Kenya from Boston, police say
US to send $425 million in aid to Ukraine, US officials say
Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
National Association of Realtors CEO stepping down; ex Chicago Sun-Times CEO tapped as interim hire
Princess Kate gives pep talk to schoolboy who fell off his bike: 'You are so brave'
King Charles to acknowledge painful aspects of U.K., Kenya's shared past on visit to the African nation