The cycle of homeless encampment evictions
By Harry Glicklin
December, 2025
Walking through Jordan Meadows Park on a Saturday afternoon in early September, it was difficult to identify anything out of the ordinary in this off-the-beaten-path park surrounded by warehouses and apartment buildings.
Turning a corner, the bright orange and blue of tents shone through the branches, alighting a heavily-populated homeless encampment along the Jordan Creek embankment. There were people living in the park – yes, actually sleeping in those tents, and therefore, walking through the park felt more like trespassing on someone’s property.
While living outside long-term is generally undesirable, there are many people for whom living in an encampment is better than a previous or impending future situation. It represents safety, accountability and community. The park wasn’t just a series of trees concentrated around a waterway — this was someone’s home.
The Jordan Creek Encampment Eviction
Monday, August 25
Before 8 a.m., bulldozers cleared the Jordan Creek encampment. The early morning clearage served as a wakeup call for residents left searching for a new place to go.
This was the first in a series of encampment evictions along the Jordan Creek in Allentown.
The acceleration toward eviction seemed to spark from two events: the creation and ratification of a bill that allows landlords to hold the city accountable for nuisances near their property, and a lawsuit from a developer citing the city for not taking care of the disruption caused by the Jordan Creek encampment near one of his properties.
Here’s what’s at stake: vulnerable people trying to find a place to safely sleep at night, a senator whose bill gives power to landlords to remove tents at will and a landlord who’s using his power to ensure people can’t sleep near his properties.
Nat Hyman, a landlord and owner of the apartment buildings near Jordan Creek, argued that those living in tents near his properties are frequently trespassing. He sued the city in April 2025 claiming that those living in the encampments urinate and defecate on his properties and are unlawfully connecting to water and electric utilities.
“I initiated the lawsuit simply because I had exhausted all other avenues of having the homeless people removed from the backyard of my buildings along the Jordan Creek,” Hyman explained.
About two months after Hyman’s lawsuit was filed, the Pennsylvania Senate passed Senate Bill 780. “The Bill passed the Senate on a pretty robust bipartisan vote,” said Senator Joe Picozzi (R-05) who was the prime sponsor of the bill which gives citizens the authority to report nuisances.
A co-sponsor on the bill, Senator Jarrett Coleman (R-15) backed up his support for the bill’s mission and subsequent ratification. “Senate Bill 780 would allow an individual to file a complaint with the Commonwealth Court if they believe a municipality is creating the nuisance by allowing for an encampment on public or private property,” he explained.
“If a city can get away with doing something other private individuals couldn’t,” said Coleman, “then there’s a problem.”
“It empowers neighbors, if the municipality refuses to act, then the people in that community have the right to appeal to the municipality’s decision,” said Picozzi.
Between a large parking lot abutting Hyman’s apartment complex and the Jordan Creek is a paved pedestrian path that meanders from Gordon Street into a wooded area near the creek. On August 12, eviction notices were posted on the trees along the pedestrian path, giving residents a two week warning to leave.
The next day, on August 13, a special city council meeting was convened to push back on the upcoming eviction, which was said to be due to flood risk. The meeting room was standing-room-only, with local legislators, community leaders and residents filling the space.
“On May 18, I went down with firefighter Adam Perreault because there were flash flood warnings and we were worried about ongoing safety,” said Mayor Matt Tuerk at the meeting. “That night he pulled three people out of the waterways who were floating in tents.”
He assured the public that Hyman’s suit did not impact the eviction decision, a statement questioned by some in attendance. Rather, he stated that the fire chief was moved to action after the recent flooding in Texas. “We don’t want to put ourselves in a position where we have to fish someone out of a creek,” stated Tuerk.
Community leaders in attendance questioned why the flood risk concern only recently came to a head.
“The trauma we sow today we will reap tomorrow,” said Sherri Binder, executive director of Ripple, to city council. “If we don’t choose to pause, we are increasing risk.”
After much discussion, city council voted unanimously to postpone the eviction until the YMCA Warming Shelter was open and a safe camping ground was secured. Additionally, Tuerk agreed to spend $50,000 to fund an early opening of the YMCA Warming Shelter. The eviction date was postponed to Sept 29.
However, the YMCA Warming Shelter does not have enough space for all residents of the encampment that would be displaced. The YMCA also does not allow for residents to store their belongings, and overall removes the idea of “home” from residents.
“When asked who would go to a shelter if available,” said Tuerk, summarizing his report at the Sept. 17, 2025 City Council meeting, “forty-one reported that they would. However, a lot of them mentioned that they would need a low barrier shelter due to work needs and their animals. Thirteen of the individuals that said they would access shelter are not able to due to their pets.”
Just days after the encampment was cleared at the end of September, Hyman filed to rescind his lawsuit. “The crux of my lawsuit was to get the homeless out of the Jordan Park Greenway,” said Hyman. “When that happened there was no point continuing the suit.”
Meanwhile, many living in the encampment couldn’t find shelter and simply moved to another area along the Creek.
The Jordan Creek Encampment Eviction
Tuesday, November 11
Heading back to the Jordan Creek encampment after the eviction was quite eerie, as though entering a ghost town. Tracks in the mud from bulldozers lined pathways and plateaus. Stretches and squares of dense land seemed permanently flattened by the weight of those living atop the dirt. There were leftover supplies that once secured tents to the ground, and signs of life could be found scattered throughout the embankment– a forgotten toothbrush, an unused roll of toilet paper, a child’s jacket.
This eviction served as a warning, a wakeup call, that the city was actually going to clear the camps, whether or not residents chose to comply. The next eviction along Jordan Creek scheduled just weeks away, for Nov. 11, 2025, loomed over residents. There were even some who had knowingly relocated temporarily as they didn’t know where to go. Their homelessness didn’t go away with the eviction, but their idea of home certainly did.
As a glimmer of a beginning to this challenge, Allentown Health Bureau’s Unhoused Services Coordinator Danielle Mineo, in collaboration with the Bureau and other community organizations created a service hub, which piloted at the first Jordan Creek eviction.
The hubs are aimed at “bringing as many resources to the individuals down at the encampments,” before eviction day, “to make sure they’re connected to all of the services they’re potentially eligible for,” says Mineo. The ultimate goal is to break down barriers for connection, by bringing the offerings directly to the people when they need them most.
According to Mineo, the service hub first rolled out Aug. 8 on Green Street, and “offered a more private space for the individuals to meet with people” such as case managers, mental and physical health practitioners and other nonprofit leaders. Those being evicted, says Mineo, “were able to meet with people at the same time, and didn’t have to keep retelling their story, which can sometimes be traumatic; meet with three providers… and tell their story once.”
The hub included those who provide services for mental health, drug and alcohol recovery, state benefits/services, and medical care.
Much of the discussion surrounding the encampment eviction was how to permanently solve the problem of lack of affordable housing and the root causes for why people are living in tents. Key to solving these issues is collaboration between the city, nonprofits and community groups. “The one thing that is encouraging to me is the city’s nonprofit community network,” said Picozzi. “There are a lot of groups who are working to help people and make sure that they get connected with the provider.”
Mayor Tuerk entertained the idea of the city finding a location for safe camping, but admitted to the challenges in his report submitted to city council on Sept. 17. “None of the community organizations said they would be able to manage [a safe homeless encampment] site independently but may be able to do as part of a larger effort,” wrote Tuerk. “All organizations reported that additional funding would be needed for their programs to assist with a safe camping or safe parking location.”
One of the non-profits working with people in the Allentown encampments is Valley Youth House. Christina DiPierro, co-chair of the Allentown Commission on Homelessness works with her colleague Becky Latshaw on the Emergency Service team at Valley Youth House, to connect transitional age youth, or those aged 18-24, with resources such as rapid rehousing, mediating conversations between the individuals and the city and connecting with them to offer food, clothes and living materials.
The pair says that youth homelessness is much different than adult homelessness. These individuals tend not to come from supportive families, with some of the main reasons for their homelessness being coming out as LGBTQ+, domestic violence, aging out of foster care, teen pregnancy and trauma. Complicating the situation, DiPierro and Latshaw add that these youth tend to oppose living in encampments or shelters with adults, given the statistic that 1 in 5 youth are approached by a trafficker within the first 24 hours of their homelessness. Therefore, creating a safe camping location for this demographic poses unique challenges.
The second eviction for the Jordan Creek encampment occurred on Nov 10 , but this time, residents seemed more prepared. A young couple, for example, had already identified a new place to stay, and moved some of their belongings the day before. The eviction was no longer a warning, people knew it was serious.
The Jordan Creek Encampment Eviction
Monday, November 17
The next eviction along Jordan Creek was one week away and some residents in this encampment were evicted just over one month prior, searching for the next option, forced to carry their furniture, tents and personal items blocks away over the course of the week.
Taking a closer look at this encampment made clear the impact of eviction. The area surrounding an individual’s tent is akin to their own private property, with often everything they own inside. These individuals had fire pits, mattresses, pets, storage and phones. They had formed a village, a community. They looked out for each other; they knew who was living in each tent, they knew their backstories and current battles and balanced both worry and hope when someone went unseen for a few days. It was strange to think that in just one week, it would all be gone, with dozens of people scattered once again.
As evictions become more common, Councilwoman CeCe Gerlach is trying to create rules of engagement to make the process less combative and minimize the harm. At an Oct. 15 council committee meeting Gerlach and Natalie Santos presented an ordinance focused on the creation of procedures that would both regulate the city’s response to the homeless, and protect their rights while working to improve unsafe conditions.
Immediately upon introduction, the ordinance was moved to committee of the whole by Council President Daryl Hendricks. Gerlach argued at the meeting that though the intention of this move is for many people to have the opportunity to vote on such an impactful piece of legislation, “[the Mayor] doesn’t want this to go anywhere, he wants this to die, and I know that’s what this effort is, and I don’t appreciate political manipulation to get the outcome that you want.” Hendricks abruptly adjourned the meeting. The ordinance is not yet on a city council agenda for discussion.
Meanwhile, the third eviction was underway and the service hub was moved to an indoor location at the Lehigh Conference of Churches, since there wasn’t a safe place to set up outside. “We’ve gotten a lot of individuals connected to resources, have had a couple of individuals housed, so it has been successful,” Mineo reflects. “People not only learned about the resources, but us as providers also learned about how we can work together.”
Moving forward, Mineo’s goal is to make the service hub model more long term, even offering the services every month to get individuals connected to resources. Mineo also concedes that the efforts are at the liberty of the housing market, which she calls “really difficult,” especially for homeless individuals who have low income, either working low-wage jobs or receiving social security benefits.
Nationally, the conversation surrounding solutions for homelessness is shifting. “I think we’re seeing a change in the way policy makers are thinking about this,” said Picozzi referencing the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s emphasis on “transitional housing,” which he says “seems to be more effective” than traditional methods.
HUD follows a “‘housing first’ model,” echoes DiPierro. She expands on this, stating that the federal government’s approach ideates that a person must first be given housing, and the cause of their homelessness– mental health, substance abuse, domestic violence, be worked on after.
What’s problematic, continues DiPierro, is HUD’s categorization of homelessness, which hierarchically lists four groups: Literally Homeless, Imminent Risk of Homelessness, Homeless Under Other Federal Statues and Fleeing/Attempting to Flee Domestic Violence.
Options 2 and 3 are those at risk of becoming homeless, effectively moving up the ranking above. Yet the worry comes with what DiPierro and Latshaw call the “hotel hamster wheel,” in which homeless individuals live out of hotel rooms, essentially spending their entire paychecks on that rent, unable to break the cycle.
Recently, Mineo adds, the funding for HUD is changing. “They’re basically reducing rapid rehousing, and increasing transitional housing. The administration right now is focused on the unsheltered population and getting them indoors.” Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, a bill was introduced in October that decriminalizes homelessness and allows for safe camping. In a memo introducing the bill, Representative Ismail Smith-Wade-El asks the question that needs to be addressed as encampment evictions continue across the Lehigh Valley, “When our fellow Americans have nowhere else to go, why should they be forced to live under constant threat of criminal penalties?”
The third and final Jordan Creek eviction occurred on Nov. 17. This eviction marked the end to the three-pronged encampment clearing along the Creek, and a final opportunity for individuals to identify their next steps.
The weather was chillier this morning than it was in September, and the residents were still left searching for safety, shelter and warmth outside. There was simply nowhere left to go.
