Willoughby Mariano | [Orlando] Sentinel Staff Writer
Published May 1, 2007

The homeless encampment at a highway underpass on the south end of downtown Orlando already is a shadow of what it was, Monique Vargas said late Monday afternoon. Only ragged comforters, a water cooler, some shopping carts and a worn American flag remained.

And when Vargas, 28, returns to her home there today after working the graveyard shift at an auto auction, she expects the rest might be gone, too.

The roughly 30 people who live under State Road 408 at Sylvia Lane were given notice that, if their property isn't moved by today, city workers may cart it off.

Late Monday, the dozen or so people remaining at the camp braced for what they worried would be a forced eviction from their makeshift home.

"This will be gone, just like everything else," said Vargas, who has lived at encampments in the neighborhood on and off for 13 years.

Orlando police Capt. Larry Zwieg said there were no plans for a cleanup similar to one that took place in November, when city sanitation workers used pitchforks, front-end loaders and dump trucks to toss out items left behind by about 100 people who made their home in an empty, fenced-in lot a few yards away from the current location.

Some of the displaced people complained that prescription medications, Social Security cards and family photographs were thrown out.

Zwieg said workers were ordered to clear garbage only, and police have not made plans for a similar sweep this time around.

"My intent is not to seize personal property or make arrests," Zwieg said.

Still, notices posted Thursday did give police the authority to arrest on trespassing charges any homeless person who remains and to toss out any items left behind, Zwieg said.

Local advocates for the homeless were planning to send observers to the site early today.

Memories of the last eviction has residents of the underpass scurrying to make other plans.

One man who would not give his full name said he stowed his stuff in hiding places around town, but he's afraid someone will steal it. Another said he would work two jobs, then find a motel once he gets his first paycheck Friday.

Vargas, who suffers alcoholism, said she hopes to find a slot at a rehab center. She can't afford to get arrested for trespassing, she said. She wants to clean up her life to get custody of her kids and maybe find better work.

"There's too much at stake," she said.

Willoughby Mariano can be reached at wmariano@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5171.

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Homeless encampment quiet as relocation deadline arrives

April Hunt and Willoughby Mariano | Sentinel Staff Writers
Posted May 1, 2007, 6:49 AM EDT

The homeless encampment at an underpass on the south end of downtown Orlando is quiet this morning, the deadline that the city has given to people who live there to move on.

Police came by just after midnight and told the 30 or so people who live under State Road 408 at Sylvia Lane they had to leave to day or face jail, said George Crossley, president of the Central Florida chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

As of 6:30 a.m., however, none of the people living their had been evicted.

One of the residents said Monday that the camp is just a shadow of what it once was. And she and others feared even the little that remains won't last.

"This will be gone, just like everything else," said Monique Vargas, 28, who has lived at encampments in the neighborhood on and off for 13 years.

Orlando police Capt. Larry Zwieg said there were no plans for a cleanup similar to one that took place in November, when city sanitation workers used pitchforks, front-end loaders and dump trucks to toss out items left behind by about 100 people who made their home in an empty, fenced-in lot a few yards away from the current location.

Some of the displaced people complained that prescription medications, Social Security cards and family photographs were thrown out.

Zwieg said workers were ordered to clear garbage only, and police have not made plans for a similar sweep this time around.

"My intent is not to seize personal property or make arrests," Zwieg said.

Still, notices posted Thursday did give police the authority to arrest on trespassing charges any homeless person who remains and to toss out any items left behind, Zwieg said.

Local advocates for the homeless were planning to send observers to the site early today.

Memories of the last eviction has residents of the underpass scurrying to make other plans.

One man who would not give his full name said he stowed his stuff in hiding places around town, but he's afraid someone will steal it. Another said he would work two jobs, then find a motel once he gets his first paycheck Friday.

Vargas, who suffers from alcoholism, said she hopes to find a slot at a rehab center. Working a graveyard shift at an auto auction, she said she can't afford to get arrested for trespassing. She wants to clean up her life to get custody of her kids and maybe find better work.

"There's too much at stake," she said.