A massive cleanup resulted in the removal of over 120,000 pounds of trash from two homeless camps in Asheville, North Carolina, on Jan. 6, according to the Asheville Police Department (APD).
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) conducted the day-long cleanup with a complement of eight staff members, two bulldozers, and four dump trucks, according an APD Facebook post.
Both homeless camps, which were vacant at the time of the cleanup, were located on property belonging to the NCDOT, the APD wrote in the Facebook post.
DOT workers remove 120,000 pounds of trash from two Asheville homeless camps, police say https://t.co/FGqBLzL2vb
— Destiny Chance WYFF (@chanceofdestiny) January 12, 2023
Repeated notifications to camp inhabitants over a two-week period by APD Community Engagement Officers ensured the vacancy of the camps by the time NCDOT crews arrived, according to the APD. The notifications were also designed to give camp inhabitants the opportunity to remove their belongings. (RELATED: Dem Mayor Claims His City Is On ‘Good Trajectory’ As It Struggles To Fight Rising Crime, Homelessness)
Homelessness in the U.S. hit an eight-year high in 2022, as cities across the country — including New York City and Los Angeles, where the mayor promised to institute a homelessness state of emergency — struggle to curb the number of individuals residing on the streets.
In 2022, website Livability ranked Asheville 19th on its annual Top 100 Best Places to Live in America list.