Overview
- City crews began clearing the longstanding Pig's Eye Park encampment on Wednesday, August 5, and outreach teams opened a downtown transitional hub to offer shelter referrals, limited storage and rides.
- Officials said safety and health incidents drove the decision, noting more than 850 calls for service to encampments over the past year and committing $1 million to expand shelter capacity.
- Outreach workers reported that roughly half of former Pig's Eye residents moved to a nearby encampment under the Randolph Avenue Bridge rather than accept indoor shelter.
- Service providers and volunteers warned the sweep disrupted long-standing relationships and ongoing care at the camp and cited barriers to shelter uptake such as shelter safety concerns, pets, criminal-record bans and lack of IDs or phones.
- The closure was the first in a planned rolling series, drew over 200 public comments and public opposition at council hearings, and left officials balancing enforcement with continued outreach and expanded shelter options.