PHOENIX — The space that was Phoenix's largest homeless camp has been free of tents for more than two weeks now.
The area, known as "The Zone," spans from roughly Jefferson to Jackson Streets along 9th to 15th Avenues, just a few blocks from the State Capitol.
Earlier this month, the City of Phoenix met a deadline to clear out the encampment.
At its peak in 2021 and 2022, "The Zone" had more than a thousand people camping out. In September 2023, a judge ordered the city to clear out "The Zone" by November 4th after property owners sued the city over conditions in the encampment and won.
Throughout the process of cleaning the encampment and shutting down blocks for camping, the City of Phoenix rushed to add more shelter space to offer to people staying on the streets. But not everyone accepted the help.
Did people just spread out to other neighborhoods?
"I've noticed a massive influx of homeless people trying to find places to be," said Troy Young, who recently moved into a house near 15th Avenue and Fillmore Street. "People going through everyone’s dumpsters. Dragging stuff out into the street."
He said the influx came around the same time the city of Phoenix shut down “The Zone” for camping.
As 12News went through the area, we noticed encampments on corners, in alleyways and in some cases, in front of empty businesses or homes.
"It seems that the quote, unquote "clean up" that the city did just spread the mess out a lot further," he surmised.
The city's Office of Homeless Solutions confirmed encampments are popping up in other neighborhoods.
"Homelessness throughout the region has been rising," said Rachel Milne, director of the office of homeless solutions. "We have noticed encampments popping up just outside the Human Services campus area that we are addressing proactively and relatively when we get notification from community members that let us know something is going on there."
Milne said they don't have any plans to close down other neighborhoods in Phoenix for camping like they had to do downtown. They do want to address new encampment reports on a case-by-case basis through Phoenix CARES, a program where people can report encampments or people who need help.
Accepting help
In May 2023, the city started deep-cleaning "The Zone" block by block. As they closed the street for camping in the process, they offered anyone on the street an indoor shelter space.
"I would say the vast majority of people around the Human Services campus took us up on our offer of indoor locations," Milne explained.
During the 15 deep cleanings from May to November, Milne said her office engaged with more than 700 people. 82% or nearly 600 of those people, accepted shelter services.
"You want to go to places where you feel safe at," said Antoin Jackson.
Jackson used to camp out in "The Zone" before he moved into a hotel shelter during the cleanings. He still comes out to the neighborhood during the day and said people will be asked to leave at night.
He knows of others who didn't feel safe or comfortable going to a shelter, so they just relocated to another place on the streets.
"You can find a place to sleep anywhere," he said.
Milne said the city currently doesn't have enough available shelter space to accommodate everyone who needs help beyond "The Zone."
RELATED: 'They're preying on those individuals': Phoenix PD talks about how things got so bad in 'The Zone'
Structured Campground
The City is working to build more shelter options like hotels to meet the rising need on the streets. Milne said they were able to get hundreds of beds available this month alone.
Another project is a structured campground known as Safe Outdoor Space. It's a few blocks from the "The Zone" area on 15th St. and Jackson Street.
Milne said there are 29 people staying there now at limited capacity as they work to put in things like lights, turf, sprinklers and shade. Crews are also making room for shipping containers outfitted into shelter spaces. Milne said everyone who opts to camp there will be issued a tent by the city and have access to storage.
"Within the next month or so we should be fully operational there," she said.
In the meantime, Troy Young feels stuck. He sees conditions worsening in his neighborhood.
"I’m having to set up security around my house," he said.
He’s been on both sides of this, once homeless himself.
"It’s stressful and worrying," he recalls, knowing just how crucial it is to find a solution that works for everyone.
"It sucks," he said. "It sucks for everybody."
As we head into the holiday season, the City of Phoenix is encouraging people to follow guidelines for "Healthy Giving" if people want to help the unsheltered population.