Mayor Rawn holds community meeting ahead of encampment sweep
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Mayor Molly Rawn hosted a community conversation on Sunday, June 8, to address homelessness and housing insecurity in Fayetteville.
The event took place from 4 to 6 p.m. at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, a day before a scheduled sweep of a University of Arkansas property used by dozens of unhoused people in Fayetteville.
During the meeting, attendees shared ideas and expressed concerns about the city's housing challenges. Two individuals were asked to leave after tensions rose.
'My takeaway is there are a lot of people in our community who are hurting, they feel forgotten,' Rawn told KNWA/FOX24. '… That's not how I want anyone in our city to feel.'
More than 30 people attended, including both unhoused and housed residents, along with members of local advocacy groups.
'There is no magic bullet to this,' Rawn said. 'If there were, then people who have been on our council and who have been elected officials much longer than I have, who are also are advocates for this cause, would have solved it.'
Fayetteville's new student housing adds 800+ beds for UA
Though the city does not oversee the University of Arkansas property where the encampment sweep is planned, Rawn acknowledged the need for collaboration and support.
'I absolutely believe there are actions we can take, that we have taken and that we continue to take…' Rawn said. 'I'm excited to move forward I think there some really good suggestions that came out of this group this evening.'
The city has also offered to send Fayetteville Police Department social workers to assist during the sweep, according to a news release.
A letter sent to people living on University of Arkansas property near 19th Street states the university will clear and clean the area on Monday, June 9. Residents were told to remove all personal belongings and necessities or risk having them discarded.
Thomas Crane, 54, said he has been living 'off and on' in the 19th Street encampment area for around eight years.
'A lot of people aren't ready for it, a lot of people have nowhere to go,' Crane told KNWA/FOX24.
Police calls to 19th Street encampment increase more than sevenfold in 2025
Police data from University of Arkansas and Fayetteville authorities show a sharp rise in incidents around the 19th Street unhoused encampment.
Since Feb. 2024, Fayetteville Police have responded nearly 60 times to the area, with most calls in the past six months. University police reported an even steeper increase, calls for service jumped from 86 to 642 in a recent three-month period, alongside spikes in criminal charges.
A recent attempted murder case also originated from the camp. A few residents of the camp area told a KNWA/FOX24 reporter they felt unsafe, especially at night.
of Fayetteville's housing crisis.
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