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WILKES-BARRE &mdash; The city on Monday targeted a homeless encampment near the former Murray Complex for cleanup and brought in a hazardous materials disposal contractor to remove trash, human waste and used hypodermic needles from the site.
				The people who live in the encampment along a railroad track between South Wilkes-Barre Boulevard and South Pennsylvania Avenue had been given notice Saturday to vacate, said Mayor George Brown, who was at the site when the cleanup began. He described the conditions as &ldquo;atrocious&rdquo; and said they &ldquo;posed a public health issue.&rdquo;
				As recently as July 26 the Wilkes-Barre City Fire Department was called to the site and had been there a number of times before that, the mayor said.
				In a prepared statement Brown said, &ldquo;this encampment is an unfortunate byproduct of multiple societal issues. The concern for both the health of the encampment inhabitants and the citizens of Wilkes-Barre was paramount during this course of action.&rdquo;
				The notice also included a list of agencies that could provide services such as emergency shelter and housing assistance for the people displaced. The agencies included: Keystone Mission, Church on the Square, Mother Teresa&rsquo;s Haven, Commission on Economic Opportunity, Helpline, Casey Recovery and Luzerne County Mental Health and Development Services and Drug and Alcohol.
				A crew from Datom Products Inc. of Dunmore was loading the trash in a garbage container parked under the South Street bridge and a police officer was posted nearby.
				Justin Behrens, executive director and CEO of Keystone Mission, said no one from the encampment asked for help from his organization Monday.
				Keystone Mission provides outreach services to 92 homeless people in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, Behrens said. He anticipated seeing people from the camp soon.
				&ldquo;They will come to us in about a day or two,&rdquo; Behrens said.
				The early warning from the city cleared out the camp. &ldquo;There was nobody there when they got there. That means they moved,&rdquo; Behrens said.
				The encampment&rsquo;s closing reinforced the need for a permanent facility to provide not only shelter, but also support services to help people transition to permanent housing and jobs, Behrens said.
				&ldquo;I think this is a really good lesson for the community. We need to have a homeless shelter,&rdquo; Behrens said.
				Keystone Mission is willing to work with other agencies and organizations to see that happen, Behrens said.

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Hazmat contractor cleans ‘public health issue’ homeless camp in WB