Piles of pornography, discarded food and trash along an Olentangy River tent community are making some outdoor enthusiasts worried.
The camp is located off of the Olentangy Bike Path near the Battelle buildings on King Avenue.
KENNY GREER/THE LANTERNThese tents, located behind the Battelle offices on 5th Avenue, are a place were homeless people have to resort to living. No people were present during the day but it seems to be a storage area for a the homeless of the few items they have.”.City officials became aware of the site in November 2007 after park users reported the camp, said Dave Davis, a spokesman for the Community Shelter Board in Columbus.
The camp, now abandoned, at one time served as living shelter for four or five people, Davis said.
But the camping ground is still open for business.
“One day a drifter yelled to me from an orange tent asking for spare change,” said Kyle Bartko, a junior in criminology. Bartko said he thinks the belligerent man was in his early 40s and he seemed intoxicated.
“He seemed very hostile when I ignored him, and started swearing,” Bartko said of his encounter that happened two weeks ago.
He did not report the incident to police because he did not feel physically threatened.
Bartko, a weekly jogger along the path, thinks the city should tell tenants to take a hike.
“I have nothing against the homeless, but this is city property and there are empty [40-oz. beer bottles] and trash all over the place,” he said. “Simply put, it’s an eyesore.”
Drifters are not the only visitors at the camp, which leads to a public health problem.
“I’ve seen two rats chase each other on the trail right by the tents one morning while walking my dog,” said Rachel Britt, an Upper Arlington resident. “The city should definitely take the camp down because if there are rats, there is probably disease.”
Britt, 26, says the tents take away from the park’s beauty.
“There’s trash all over the place,” she said.
The conditions along the trail have caught the attention of Columbus City Council.
“There are also larger community health concerns that can arise from unsanitary living conditions,” said Councilman Andrew Ginther in an e-mail. “These are public safety concerns – both for those living in the encampment and the public at-large.”
After receiving calls from joggers, the Community Shelter Board sent outreach coordinators to assist residents in finding adequate shelter.
They discovered that the residents either had mental health problems or economic hardships.
The last permanent campers were a couple in their late 30s who were removed in late March, Davis said.
“[The couple] fell on hard times after losing their jobs,” she said. “It was hard for them to stay together because there are no co-ed homeless shelters, so they went to live along the river.”
The couple now lives in a subsidized Columbus apartment.
The Ohio statewide unemployment rate rose to a 25-year high in March to 9.7 percent, according to an Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services report.
Most people who lose their job do not end up homeless, but the former tent area brings up questions about why the campground was settled.
“Homelessness is sometimes a symptom of other larger problems, and recently the increase in homelessness has been linked to the state of the national, state and local economy,” Ginther said.
All former residents and drifters at the site have unique stories, Ginther said.
“Still, the causes of homelessness are many and varied; each person’s experience is different, and the challenges those without shelter face often depend on their personal circumstances,” he said.
Britt, the woman in favor of tearing the tents down, plans to continue using the park twice a week and has not encountered any problems with the campsite.
“I do worry that someone might get harassed or even attacked for money,” she said.
A Columbus police spokesman said there have been no police reports related to the camping site.
Councilman Ginther had no knowledge of any campsite clean-up plans.
Attempts to reach a spokesman at the mayor’s office were unsuccessful.
