Abandoned lot occupied by homeless people has some residents concerned
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA)-- Residents near Myrtle Ave. and Noble St. in Downtown El Paso are frustrated that homeless people have taken over an abandoned lot in their neighborhood.
They tell ABC-7 that every time the city attempts to clear the area out, it only works temporarily. In some cases, residents say the people return within a day.
Laura Cruz-Acosta, City of El Paso Communications Director says the home that once occupied the lot at1130 Myrtle Ave was deemed an "eminent danger" after a fire back in 2022. The city decided to demolish the building due to the condition of the structure in May of 2022 and is currently an empty lot.
"Individuals who are experiencing homelessness will set up tents in the vacant lot. And so when we receive these types of reports, what we do is we send out our street outreach team and they will go out and have conversations with the individuals in order to provide them assistance whether it means finding them, shelter, finding them food, finding them, whatever it is that they might need at that moment," Cruz-Acosta said.
The outreach team went to the empty lot and cleared the area of people camped out in the empty lot that is deemed private property, and a crew from environmental services cleaned the area of trash and debris earlier this week, according to Cruz-Acosta.
Saturday, ABC-7 saw several people camped out in the lot with what looked to be drugs and drug paraphernalia.
The outreach team can be reached at 915-298-1115 and they are available 24/7. Cruz-Acosta says residents in the area who are concerned can reach out as well as anyone experiencing homelessness. She urges the community to visit El Paso Helps to learn more about the resources that available.
