Protesters say Gompers Park unhoused were unjustly displaced
The members of the independent political organization 39th Ward Neighbors United say actions at the park are criminalizing the unhoused, while the city says it's helping dozens find a path to permanent housing.
The protest follow last week's outreach effort called an 'Accelerated Moving Event,' which the city hails a success with 100 percent of participants continuing the optional process to find stable housing.
While the demonstrators acknowledge the progress of the event, they say people prior to it were unjustly displaced. Members say they want affordable housing and emergency shelter space in the area. Until the solutions are ample, they say, public parks must remain free and available to all.
Nearly 30 at Gompers Park homeless encampment enroll with housing providers
Agencies dismantle smoke stacks, propane tanks at Gompers Park encampment
The city and Ald. Samantha Nugent's (39th Ward) office both emphasize that no one was forced to leave the park during the AME.
'Protesting the alderman's office does not help the unhoused,' a statement from the group Restore Gompers Park said, in part. 'Spewing extreme rhetoric is a distraction and an affront to the efforts underway to provide housing and wraparound services to those in Gompers Park. We denounce the continued attempts to create chaos and disruption by this vocal minority of individuals.'
For months, neighbors raised concerns about the growing encampment at the park on the 4200 block of West Foster Avenue, saying it creates an unsafe environment. Residents and officials say used needles, weapons and drug paraphernalia have been found. There have also been reports of alcohol use and fires, including two in six-day span last month. The fire department has been called to the park at least 36 times since January 2024.
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