By Chad Barthe

Aug. 11, 2021

Lancaster, PA– Tammy Rojas, an executive member from the Lancaster County Homeless Union, along with other organizations are preparing for the fallout of the eviction moratorium. “We know it’s coming. It’s going to happen eventually. Again, we’re not the class in power”, Rojas said.

While the Biden Administration’s extension on the eviction moratorium has left many relieved across Lancaster County, it has only prolonged the inevitability of its ending. The moratorium is extended till Oct. 3, however, this will only continue if the spread of COVID-19 in Lancaster remains at or above its current rate.

Rojas also spoke to the new number of individuals who will face these evictions. While some people have experienced homelessness before, many will be experiencing homelessness for the first time.

“The reality is we’re not going to be able to save everybody because again, our system is not set up to do so, it’s not set up for the well-being of the people. It’s set up to look through the lens of the need to create capital. I’m looking at the realistic-ness that encampments are going to grow.” Rojas said. She’s warned that the community needs to be prepared to help support and organize these new homeless populations.

For the last three years, homelessness has been on the rise in Lancaster City. The last official recording in 2019, found that 422 people were homeless in the city. It’s below the over 600 homeless documented in 2009 and 2010, yet there’s been no clear statistics on the impact of COVID-19 over the past year.

According to a survey by United Way of Pennsylvania, over a quarter of Lancaster County Residents are living paycheck-to-paycheck and could easily lose their homes. The poverty rate is twice the state average at 24%.

Many of the houseless individuals congregate in Binns Park, next to the Lancaster County Government Center at 150 N. Queen St. These individuals are much more susceptible to drug use and mental health issues.

The union has repeatedly advocated for public restrooms after the 2013 death of Gregory Baynes. Bayes had schizophrenia and was known for panhandling in the area. Baynes was shot by officers during an altercation, after he was approached for publicly urinating.

 “We’re paying with our lives because something, as simple as we don’t have public bathrooms,” Rojas said. She also mentioned other ordinances supported by local organizations that cracked down on panhandling and food distribution that easily target poor and homeless individuals that can’t afford these fines.

Many residents who can’t afford these fines are instead placed in the Lancaster County Prison. Mathew Rosing, Rojas’s partner, spent fourteen months in prison unable to pay cash bail. He was eventually found not guilty and released from prison. In February, Rojas was also threatened with incarceration for $60 worth of parking tickets while sick with COVID. The Lancaster County Prison is constantly overcrowded causing city officials to rapidly progress the development of a new 45-acre prison, fifteen times the size of the current prison.

Programs like the Lancaster Bail Fund have attempted to remedy these issues. Started by former Lancaster Attorney Michelle Akritas, the organization is a revolving bail fund and advocacy group hoping to end pretrial detention across Lancaster County.

However, the volunteer organization is in its infancy. It completely runs on donations and has yet to start posting bail. In May, Warden Cheryl Steberger claimed 66% of the prisoners being held at Lancaster County Prison were being held pretrial.

While many critics may laud shelters and organizations like the Water Street Mission, Rojas was more critical of similar religious-run programs. “They think their program is an improvement and helping but really it’s leaving a lot more people out than it is helping,” she said. She noted how countless offices and shelter space across the city could be used for housing. Yet, she’s more disappointed with the city’s prioritization of upscale housing like the Willow Valley Mosaic, Lancaster Press Buildings, North Shippens Place Condominiums and a new high-rise by Berger Rental Communities.

The former St. Joseph Hospital site is undergoing redevelopment into affordable housing, but Rojas has her doubts about the project.

Curtis Yon, who worked in the non-private sector for nine years, spoke at a city council meeting in July. “Poverty is a systemic choice, the money is here,” Yon said. He explained that Tabor Community Services raises tens of thousands of dollars every year yet has had a minimum of 10 empty rooms since 2018. While the resources are there, the local government hasn’t used them to address leadership. He warned the city council members multiple times of the incoming influx of homeless individuals following the moratorium. Rojas also argued that the U.S. needed an organizer in charge during this pandemic not a politician.

When asked if any groups were disproportionately affected in Lancaster compared to the rest of the nation, Rojas admitted she didn’t find much difference from community to community. As part of the larger National Union of the Homeless, most of her reports support that people of color, LGBTQ, and veterans are disproportionately affected across the system. Yet, poverty still affects a diverse group of individuals with half the city is financially struggling. “We are the majority, but we are not the priority,” Rojas Said.

Unfortunately, due to the recent gentrification, poverty and issues with healthcare providers Rojas is unable to afford living in Lancaster. For Tammy, Lancaster is the only home she’s ever known, but now her and her partner must move to Dauphin County. “I had to go take up somebody’s offer to go stay with them. So, I’m being pushed out of Lancaster, you know, I’m one of many that this happens to,” Rojas said.

By Chad Barthe

July 28, 2021

Lancaster, PA– About a dozen members from Put People First PA and the Lancaster County Homeless Union attended Tuesday’s city council meeting. Although they were not on the agenda, the group challenged council members over the impact of recent infrastructure regulations that have gentrified neighborhoods and kicked low-income residents out onto the streets.

The activists claimed that Franklin and Marshall College found that nearly 48% of Lancaster City Residents are poor or low-income. The United States Census Bureau found the Lancaster poverty rate is 26.5%, more than double the state’s rate.

Tammy Rojas, 44, is the PPF PA’s leader in Lancaster City and an executive leader of Lancaster County Homeless Union. Before the meeting, Tammy guided and assured some of the newer attendees as to the trajectory of the night. The group ranged in age, ethnicity, and political leanings.

The Office of Neighborhood Engagement began the meeting with a highlight of the city’s diversity and community building efforts, with the rest of the agenda consisting of an ordinance passing new legislation that would increase the salary of the Mayor in the 2022 election and a revision to water shut-off notification procedures and COVID-19 construction regulations.

The activists were easily perturbed by these legislation proposals citing these updates should not be a priority during a housing crisis and only confused residents more. One gentleman eventually left during the middle of the meeting, making Tammy lose one of her testimonies.

When the council came around to Public Comment, about seven members read speeches on the stand. Despite a three-minute limit, most presentations went overtime or overlapped one another.

Tammy herself was the first to speak, demanding that the city government make fighting poverty a priority. She criticized all levels of the American government for their mishandling of the pandemic and designation of relief to healthcare profiteers. She also criticized Penn Medicine’s mishandling of her contraction of the COVID-19 virus.

In another speech, Mathew Rosing detailed his experience spending 14 months in the Lancaster City prison. He was denied bail because he was homeless but eventually found not guilty and released. He said, “I sat in prions for 14 months because I was homeless. The city’s heart is dying.”

Jessica Lopez also voiced concern multiple times throughout the meeting. Lopez worked at Catalina’s Bar and Grille until the owners were forced to sell their liquor license in the middle of July after dozens of police-involved incidents, including a shooting. The bar was quite popular amongst racial minorities in the city. Lopez accused the county of racial profiling, as multiple bars experienced similar shootings and instances of violence without any pressure for them to close. In her free time, Lopez closely works with Mickey’s Mission of Hope.

Michelle Uleary, head of Mickey’s Mission of Hope, was also vocal throughout the meeting. The organization feeds homeless residents that congregate in Binn’s Park. During her comments, she said, “Yes I’m shaking because I’m angry not because I’m scared.” She questioned why churches were allowed to hand out food without push back from the City while police sought to arrest her. She additionally admitted she’s been attempting to reach Mayor Sorace’s office for over two years.

Dennis Garrett, a veteran, currently living at the Lancaster Transitional Living Center, delivered a controversial statement. He encouraged the council to work with the federal government in deporting illegal immigrants that he believes are bringing COVID-19 into the nation. Garrett’s tirade caused many activists in the crowd to walk out and sparked aggressive arguments among a few.

Vinnie Rosarini moved with his family from Puerto Rico in 2015. He spoke extensively about his mother’s difficulty in finding suitable work despite her teaching experience and degree. He said how his family expected to be part of a diverse community but only found the same institutional corruption. He advocated for the council to focus on the poor, minority communities who struggled the hardest during the COVID-19 pandemic. He ended his speech by saying, “When we lift from the bottom, we all rise.”

Multiple more PPF members spoke throughout the night, repeating the same critical arguments until council Vice President Pete Soto closed public comment. Afterward, many activists expressed a willingness to cooperate with the local government to help bring relief to struggling residents. Yet Tammy, and many others, felt that change was impossible without systematic change.

Lancaster City Council meetings are held every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month and are open to the public. All meetings are streamed live and posted on the City’s Youtube page.

Future events and information can be found on Put People First PA and Lancaster County Homeless Union’s Facebook pages.