‘We don’t blame them;’ Neighborhood group voices concern after homeless camp appears in new park

A place for children to play is now the site of a homeless encampment in Dayton.

As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00 , Dayton Leadership Academy students renovated the private property site on Paul Laurence Dunbar Street into a park.

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Tasha Rountree is the President of the Wolf Creek Neighborhood Association and helped organize the renovation project.

“We connected the water to an automated water drip system. We had all the raised beds full of, as you can see, corn, potatoes, greens,” Rountree said.

A little over a month after the project was complete, people experiencing homelessness began living there.

“It was overtaken by the homeless population, and we don’t blame them because where else do you go when you don’t have a place to go,” Roundtree said.

She said the people who started living in the park are the result of a much bigger problem in the City of Dayton.

People experiencing homelessness may struggle to find the right resources, but Rountree doesn’t want to them be in legal trouble.

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“When they get a trespassing ticket, it takes me then 3 to 6 additional months to clean that up,” Rountree said.

Rountree said she wants to help connect these people with the right resources but hasn’t received any help from the city.

To make certain resources more accessible, she handed out phones at the park on Monday.

“I really, I love what she has done because I, I can keep in touch with my family now,” Tony Robinson said.

Rountree said she hasn’t heard back from the city, and that she can’t do this alone.

We will continue to follow this story.