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�����Ƶ�I�����Ƶ�ve had $2,000 to $3,000 worth of vandalism and theft ... that�����Ƶ�s just this year,�����Ƶ� Sealey said.

In early May, after a long day of working underneath a house, Sealey took a shower as soon as he got home. In the 10-20 minutes it took him to shower, he said, someone stole a $500-$600 pipe threader from his truck. That was only one of several items or scrap that was stolen, he said.

Neighborhood residents say lawn mowers, pressure washers and other items have been stolen since the number of homeless people in the neighborhood has increased. They point specifically to a camp along the Ohio River bank that is accessed from McClelland Park, although residents say there are other pockets of transient people who are unhoused in their neighborhood.

Neighborhood residents said they plan to attend the Sept. 23 meeting of Huntington City Council and ask city officials for help.

Crime concerns

Judy Taylor and her husband, Greg Miller, said the first set of campers they saw set up at the end of June. While the couple have only seen smoke coming from the camp once early in the morning, there are no lights at night. Taylor says she can see the riverbank camp from her home and has only heard one argument that escalated into a screaming match.

Miller also recalls hearing noises in the night.

�����Ƶ�I heard once what sounded like a firecracker,�����Ƶ� Miller said. �����Ƶ�In a drought, I worry about a possible fire right up the bank to our house and business (Airbnb).�����Ƶ�

While vandalism and theft in the neighborhood have been going on for the last two years, Sealey, Taylor and other Highlawn residents told The Herald-Dispatch on Monday that it has only gotten worse since May. It is unknown if the uptick in theft and vandalism correlates to the encampment, but residents say it has not helped matters.

Highlawn Neighborhood �����Ƶsociation President Linda Blough said misconduct that now infiltrates the neighborhood has seeped into McClelland Park, the neighborhood park with tennis courts, shelters, a playground and a walking path.

Blough said she has received a call recently from a parent who saw a person using drugs openly in the park while his child was playing. The resident retrieved his son right away, but the child was in hysterics to leave the park earlier than expected.

�����Ƶ�What do you say to a 3-year-old, why they can�����Ƶ�t go to the park because somebody is using drugs within their eyesight?�����Ƶ� Blough said. �����Ƶ�I just got so mad.�����Ƶ�

Judy Elkins, who has lived in the neighborhood more than 40 years, said it�����Ƶ�s a scene several other parents and children have encountered at the park, along with people bathing at the drinking fountain and performing intimate acts in public.

Sealey said Highlawn Church of Christ, at 27th Street and Latulle Avenue, has also been no stranger to issues that have plagued the neighborhood. Sealey and his family have attended the church since they moved to the neighborhood about 45 years ago. He helps with the upkeep of the church, along with several other residents. However, with constant break-ins, Sealey believes it�����Ƶ�s time to sell the church.

�����Ƶ�We just don�����Ƶ�t have enough money to keep fixing it and fixing it,�����Ƶ� Sealey said. �����Ƶ������Ƶ soon as we fix something, they tear it up twice as much, so we are just going to have to sell it. It�����Ƶ�s sad. It�����Ƶ�s the church I grew up in.�����Ƶ�

Sealey said the ever-growing crime in the neighborhood is something that residents have dealt with for the past two to three years, but it has intensified in the past several months. But Elkins believes it�����Ƶ�s intensified in the past year.

�����Ƶ�It was not good before that at times, but nothing continuous,�����Ƶ� Elkins said. �����Ƶ�It started getting worse in the last two years, and the last year I�����Ƶ�ve seen more.�����Ƶ�

Sealey has filed six police reports since January and has provided video evidence to detectives.

The Huntington Police Department recently checked out the neighborhood and went down to the encampment and ticketed the campers, Elkins said. The visit from HPD has evacuated the camp for now, Elkins said. Left at the camp were clothes and other items scattered along the camp.

Also left behind was a purse hanging in the tree embellished with �����Ƶ�Die (obscenity) off�����Ƶ� in nail polish.

�����Ƶ of Monday, at least two tents had returned to the site, but just beyond where the former camp was, and two adults were seen at the new camp.

�����Ƶ�I live by myself,�����Ƶ� Elkins said. �����Ƶ�Sometimes I�����Ƶ�m by myself there. I have my porch door locked. I have my storm door locked. I have my big door locked. Same thing on the back. I don�����Ƶ�t want to get hurt. I�����Ƶ�m too old to take that. I�����Ƶ�m 80 years old. I don�����Ƶ�t need it. I�����Ƶ�m not going to take it.�����Ƶ�

Huntington has an ordinance prohibiting people from camping, occupying camp facilities for purpose of habitation, or using camp paraphernalia at any park, any street, alley, sidewalk, easement and or/right of way; or any creek bed, riverfront property or beneath bridge abutments.

City of Huntington response

Bryan Chambers, communications director for the City of Huntington, in a written response to The Herald-Dispatch on Thursday, said city officials are aware of the concerns that have been expressed by Highlawn residents.

The Huntington Police Department has dispatched its Crisis Intervention Team, which consists of police officers and mental health professionals, to the neighborhood to offer housing, mental health and substance use disorder treatment resources to any unsheltered individuals that the team encounters, he said. The team will continue to monitor the neighborhood.

City officials also are communicating with representatives of the Highlawn Neighborhood �����Ƶsociation to identify specific issues or areas that may need addressed.

�����Ƶ�We seek and expect compassionate accountability,�����Ƶ� Chambers said. �����Ƶ�We always strive to strike a balance between the demands of citizens and business owners for a safe, vibrant city and the needs of the unsheltered population for the provision of dignified living conditions, all the while having an ultimate goal of eliminating homelessness.�����Ƶ�

Huntington City Council adopted its public camping ordinance in January 2014, Chambers said.

�����Ƶ�It has been well-documented that Mayor Steve Williams�����Ƶ� administration expects that whenever the City has been made aware of a homeless encampment, it coordinates with service providers to first offer unsheltered individuals at the encampment housing, mental health and substance use disorder treatment services,�����Ƶ� he said.

Chambers said unsheltered individuals are notified when an encampment is about to be dismantled. Unhoused individuals are given a one-week notice. Chambers said the two goals of this approach are to preserve public safety and to offer unsheltered individuals pathways to housing and wrap-around services instead of being exposed to unsanitary living conditions that can exist in an encampment.

�����Ƶ�While homelessness is not a crime, those who engage in criminal activity will be arrested,�����Ƶ� Chambers said. �����Ƶ�Our approach of compassionate accountability encompasses the following �����Ƶ� do what we can to provide services and resources to those who are marginalized while holding them accountable to follow the expectations set forth within the community.�����Ƶ�

Trends

Mitch Webb, executive director of the Huntington City Mission, said in a written statement Thursday that the City Mission has seen a gradual increase of people experiencing homelessness for a few years now.

Webb said an increase in unsheltered people used to be a cold-weather issue. In the past several years, it has became a year-round issue, he said.

�����Ƶ�Just remember that these are people,�����Ƶ� Webb said. �����Ƶ�People going through the most vulnerable time of their lives. They do the things they do for a reason and it�����Ƶ�s not always just because they are rebellious.�����Ƶ�

Homelessness in Huntington has evolved significantly, Chambers said.

�����Ƶ�Historically, it was mainly associated with men struggling with alcoholism. However, recent data and surveys reveal that many individuals now face complex challenges such as substance use disorder and mental health issues,�����Ƶ� Chambers said.

�����Ƶ�This shift means that addressing homelessness today requires comprehensive support services. By providing these �����Ƶ�wrap-around�����Ƶ� services, we aim to better assist individuals once they are housed and help prevent property damage and other related issues,�����Ƶ� Chambers added.

The mission opened its behavioral health unit �����Ƶ�Anchor of Hope�����Ƶ� in June 2023. The mission currently uses its chapel as a low-barrier shelter for unsheltered individuals who, for whatever reason, will not utilize the mission�����Ƶ�s night shelter. The mission will build a separate low-barrier shelter that will be located behind the chapel.

�����Ƶ�Our new building will have office space for partners like Marshall Health, Valley Health and Prestera to come onsite and see to the needs of this community, whether they are emotional, physical, or spiritual needs,�����Ƶ� Webb said.

Huntington�����Ƶ�s day shelter Harmony House is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The city is actively collaborating with partners to offer wrap-around services for individuals experiencing homelessness, Chambers said. The partnership between the city and wrap-around services hopes to provide the comprehensive support needed to effectively house and assist people experiencing homelessness, addressing their unique challenges and helping to ensure long-term stability, he said.