‘Pretty stupid’: Homeless in Norristown encampments weigh in on sweeps, busing

When Joshua “June” Jay woke up Thursday morning, he emerged from the nonworking car in which he sleeps in Norristown, and sampled the bad breezes blowing in from Canadian wildfires.

Trying to hold his breath, Jay, 32, bicycled to the homeless encampment near the SEPTA train platform on the borough’s Main Street to talk with friends.

The topic of conversation was yet another concern wafting through the air: borough Council president Tom Lepera’s idea to bus all people living homeless in Norristown to Villanova University, where an advocate who works with local unhoused people teaches.

Buzz about the busing, along with another possible plan to sweep the 160 people who experience homelessness from the borough without storing their possessions, has been reverberating in the last few days among those living in the 20 encampments in the municipality.

“I heard this!” exclaimed Jay, who declined to discuss the details of his life. “How are they going to do that — drive all of us out of here and put us on a campus lawn?”

When he was told that the plan actually was to place individuals on the lawn, Jay said, “Come on, those people in Villanova won’t allow it. How about instead of putting us on buses, you put up a homeless shelter in Norristown instead?”

There had been a homeless shelter in town operating until last year. The parcel had been on state land but was returned to the borough, where the prevailing thought among political leaders was to develop the land to help Norristown’s tax base. Borough officials have said other municipalities in Montgomery County should share the burden of housing those who are homeless.

Ameen McCall, 42, a disabled Army veteran and former landscaper who lives in the encampment, said he wasn’t sure whether the busing plan was meant to be carried out, or was simply a form of political theater.

Either way, he said, “This is all pretty stupid.” He worried that the bus and sweep talk would heighten already-stoked borough anger against the homeless.

“We live in these tents for safety, away from people who could hurt us. This is our refuge.

“If they send me to Villanova, what am I supposed to do then? And if they don’t, how will I be safe here in Norristown?”

Draya Lamacchia, 34, McCall’s neighbor in the encampment along Stoney Creek, has been homeless for five years. She’s been in her current spot for a year. A mother of three kids who live with her family, she grew up in Conshohocken.

Asked about the busing plan, she said, “Of course I think it’s ... [messed up].” She also wondered whether it was even legal, a fact that’s being researched by the Harrisburg-based Community Justice Project (CJP), which offers legal services for those in poverty.

”I know this doesn’t look like much to other people,” Lamacchia said, standing outside her tent. “People just look at this and think: ‘Nasty.’ But this is all that we have. This is our home.”

She said that the encampment, shaded by trees and away from prying eyes, affords her more privacy and security than sleeping outside the Norristown Transportation Center. So do others experiencing homelessness.

“In the years I’ve been homeless, this is the safest I felt,” she said.

Lamacchia said when police come by, they point out the trash. But, she added, the borough doesn’t offer a way to get rid of it. She asked sanitation workers if they could provide a trash can and a recycling bin, but the answer was no.

Just waking up on Thursday, several encampment residents asked why Lepera was directing his enmity toward Villanova.

That’s the workplace of Stephanie Sena, an antipoverty fellow at the university’s Charles Widger School of Law. Sena has been advocating on behalf of those experiencing homelessness in Norristown. She also runs a homeless shelter in Upper Darby.

She has said that Norristown officials have considered “sweeping” out the unhoused by late June. The clear-out was to coincide with one being planned by Peco, which said it was removing “hazardous waste,” according to officials. An encampment of 12 people lives on a patch of the utility’s property in Norristown.

Lepera has denied that any boroughwide sweep has ever been discussed. He’s said that he sympathizes with people who are homeless, but must balance their needs with those of other residents who believe that unhoused individuals are impinging on overall quality of life in Norristown.

Lepera and his defenders, including an unnamed “past resident” who posted a long statement on Lepera’s Facebook page on Thursday, have often referenced Villanova as they discuss homelessness, but have been particularly critical of Sena.

“Why would anyone take her serious?” the anonymous past resident wrote.

Villanova has issued a statement that said Sena has not been working on behalf of the school. The university has been excoriated by some alumni as well as non-Villanova academics for not supporting Sena, and for not commenting on the busing plan.

Lepera and his defenders have dismissed Sena as an outsider imposing her will on the borough, a charge Sena denies.

They’ve also described Sena at various times as a lawyer who lives on the Main Line and is part of a potential CJP lawsuit against the borough — all of which are incorrect, public records show.

Commenting on the post on Lepera’s page, Sena said, “I wish they’d please stop talking about me. They don’t know anything about me.”

On Thursday, Mike Kingsley, outreach manager of the Norristown Hospitality Center, which provides services for those living homeless, noted that Lepera’s comments have, for one reason or another, drawn attention to the plight of the unhoused.

“At least we’ve gotten to a point where people are thinking about it,” he said. “Now, we need love.”

The center offers breakfast, showers, mail service, and social workers for those experiencing homelessness. It has also found housing for 19 families in the last year.

“We’re not going to solve homelessness in this little municipality,” Kingsley added. “But we can have an impact. And that’s a good start.”