County Officials Order Dismantling Of Charlotte's 'Tent City'

CHARLOTTE, NC — Citing poor sanitation and a rodent infestation, county health officials ordered the dismantling of a homeless encampment site housing about 100 people in tents and temporary structures near Uptown Charlotte.

"We have taken this action out of an abundance of caution to protect the health of encampment residents," Mecklenburg County Public Health Director Gibbie Harris said in statement Tuesday. "This type of order is rare, but sometimes necessary. In this instance, it will help us better work with encampment residents to find alternative accommodations, many of whom have been reluctant to seek help because of concerns with COVID-19."

Harris issued the abatement of imminent hazard order to owners of the properties on 12th Street between Tryon and College streets that houses the North End Encampment, also known as "Tent City." The order, which was effective at 5 p.m. Feb. 16, ordered those living on the sites to leave and property owners clean it within 72 hours "so that rodent eradication can begin," the county said in a statement.

The county said it was working to find housing for displaced residents, including expanding existing shelter capacity, and said the support would also include access to mental health and substance use services.

Residents of the encampment include individuals who became homeless after losing employment during the pandemic, along with those who "are unable to or wish not to transition to other housing," The Charlotte Observer said.

Community organizer, Deborah Woolard, who founded Block Love Charlotte, told the newspaper the short notice to dismantle the encampment was unfair to residents. "You are traumatizing people that are already experiencing trauma, (people with) mental health issues, with PTSD," she said. "It's a lot going on and then you're going to take away from them what they're used to," the Observer reported.

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