Mayor Ed Gainey says plan to address people experiencing homelessness could come next week
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said a plan to address people experiencing homelessness in the city could come as early as next week.
The city and county have been pursuing a long-range plan to address homelessness, but Pittsburgh City Council and people experiencing homelessness say more immediate action is needed.
One man and his fiancé have been living on the Allegheny River Trail in an encampment for two months. Someone recently looted their tent and a well-meaning resident gave them a new one.
But this is not where they want to be.
KDKA's Andy Sheehan: "It's not safe out here?"
The man: "No, it's definitely not. No, it's bad."
After a storm of calls from constituents concerned about the conditions for the people experiencing homelessness and their own personal safety, Pittsburgh City Council passed a bill giving Gainey two weeks to come up with a plan to immediately address the crisis.
"When I walked in here, there was no plan for the homeless," Gainey said. "It wasn't like we had a document to go off of. We didn't have it. We had to create it. We've been fortunate with the county, me and the county executive met, we're talking about what we want to do and we will create a plan."
The city has been working with the Allegheny County Department of Human Services to get people into housing. But as people experiencing homelessness have said, the process is slow.
"They said it could take up to a year," the man said.
Gainey's plan will be announced jointly by the city and the county and could come as early as next week. Council members want it to include imminent housing options. Indications are the plan will include some immediate housing options and some longer-ranged ones.