The future for people living without homes in Charles County is always uncertain, more so for those at an encampment in northern Waldorf.
The Maryland State Highway Administration has sent out an invitation for contractors to bid on a clean-up contract for a homeless camp located at Crain Highway and Mattawoman Beantown Road.
“Contractor shall provide all labor and expertise for surveying, documenting, clean-up, collecting, removal, and disposal services involving homeless encampment abatement actions on MDOT SHA property located in Charles County under an ‘as needed’ agreement basis,” the contract’s summary reads.
The contract provides for the dismantling, clean-up and disposal of temporary housing structures, including tents, mattresses and blankets.
Further, clean-up and disposal of trash and debris, like overfill from dumpsters, cardboard and tires is also listed. Disposal of biohazardous waste, including human bodily fluids and waste and drug paraphernalia is also covered in the contract.
“The site must be restored to a condition without obvious evidence of previous human habitation,” the contract states.
A spokesperson for Charles County government said that due to the area in question being along two state roads, the encampment is largely a state situation.
The issue itself may not be new, according to Corae Young, the chief operating officer of Lifestyles of Maryland, which assists people who are homeless in Charles County.
She told Southern Maryland News that there was another camp in the area roughly a year ago that Lifestyles had helped the State Highway Administration in delivering notices to clear out.
“I believe what occurred is people moved close by,” Young said.
A site visit was conducted the morning of Aug. 21, where a reporter with Southern Maryland News was in attendance.
While there was an ample amount of debris and trash strewn about the wooded site, there were also multiple lived-in tents in the encampment.
One individual who is homeless emerged from his tent to see contractors walking around.
Bikes, shopping carts, bags, mattresses, cardboard, propane tanks and bottles littered the area. To get the area to the “condition without obvious evidence of previous human habitation” specified in the contract will likely be an uphill battle.
In light of there still being inhabitants in the camp, Southern Maryland News reached out to the State Highway Administration at the conclusion of the site tour.
“SHA works in partnership with local agencies, including support and outreach services and law enforcement, to assist those residing on state rights-of-way. Connecting them with agencies that can provide relocation assistance, housing or other support services has proven to be a successful approach,” Daniel Allman of the agency’s communications office said in an email.
State workers inform those residing on state rights-of-way that they are on state property before cleaning an area, he said, adding that there is a 30- to 60-day timeframe for them to relocate. Despite the contract seeking bids, Allman said, “At this time, there is no work scheduled for this location.”
Bids on the contract are due Aug. 28. The contract sets no exact start date for the work, and relocation efforts were uncertain as of this week.
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