FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) — On Wednesday, contractors with North Carolina Department of Transportation cleared the property once occupied by members of the homeless community in Fayetteville.

Just a week ago there were multiple tents near MLK Freeway on Gillespie Street. On Wednesday they were all gone. The City of Fayetteville identified the site as high risk, after the mayor and council made homeless encampments illegal last fall.

“If there is a way for us to help somebody that’s what we are going to do,” Patricia Jackson, Operations Manager for Fayetteville Urban Ministry said.

Over the past week Jackson and her team placed 27 people into hotel rooms. The non-profit is contracted by the City of Fayetteville to house those living in these encampments for 21 days.

Fayetteville Urban Ministry loaded up boxes of food and bags of personal hygiene products to take to families on Wednesday afternoon. The next step is to work with them to find more permanent housing before day 21.

“Hope that they won’t be in the hotel for 21 days. The hope is that we get them permanent supportive housing much quicker than that,” Jackson said in a previous interview.

Fayetteville Urban Ministry is holding a special information session on Friday, May 12^th at 10:30am for those families. During the session, a team of people from local community and nonprofit organizations will be present to assign them case managers, answer questions, and provide resources. 

The meeting will be at the Fayetteville Urban Ministry office, 701 Whitfield Street in Fayetteville. Individuals, businesses, and organizations that would like to assist these families are welcomed.

For more information call 910-483-5944, ext 2202.