CNBNews

April 18, 2010

CAMDEN CITY NJ-Here are the facts on any Camden County involvement with Tent City in Camden. 

The land on which Tent City is located is owned by the state Department of Transportation. Neither Camden County nor Camden City has any jurisdiction over it.
The county has nothing to do with the founding or maintenance of Tent City and has no jurisdiction over it. Neither it nor the city of Camden ever had a goal or intention of "shutting it down," and had no jurisdiction to do so. Lorenzo "Jamaica" Banks, the self-proclaimed mayor of Tent City in Camden, who founded Tent City in 2006, chose April 15 as the date he wanted to close it. Reporters were told all of this from the first time they called about the April 15 deadline. The only interaction with Camden County came in providing services to the homeless who need them, which it does every day as part of county government's mission. 

Last summer, Banks asked for the county's help in making Tent City fulfill its mission, which he said was to be a transition place for homeless folks who didn't want to or couldn't go to shelters or other available housing. Over time, it had become a permanent residence for some, swelling its ranks to 100 people. Banks could not control that population and wanted help to relocate them. 

The county offered to create a subcommittee of its committee on the homeless, comprised of private nonprofit, county and city agencies and services, to help do intake to get people placed. At that time, Banks agreed to keep any newcomers from joining the already overcrowded venue, which has public health and public safety issues, including sanitation and crime. 

From last summer on, social workers from the Board of Social Services and other organizations went weekly to Tent City and worked directly with people to place them. The committee, which included South Jersey Legal Services, Inc. and Banks, met monthly to help this population, some with underlying problems such as mental illness, substance abuse, felony convictions and other complicating issues. 

By late winter, only 28 people were left in Tent City, even after Banks reneged on his agreement to bar newcomers. He still claimed he wanted to close down the camp and asked the county to help by completing intake of camp residents. He set the date of April 15 for it to close, then chose not to meet it and produced more newcomers to swell the ranks. 

Whatever Banks decides to do, the county will continue its mission to serve the county's homeless. There will be continued weekly outreach to Tent City, through Volunteers of America and the Board of Social Services, as there is to other places where
the homeless gather, in an effort to get them into the system and put together a transition plan tailored to each individual's issues and needs.