Milwaukee's homeless say they were told to move for the Republican National Convention

MILWAUKEE − David James Porter had a deadline.

Last week, the 54-year-old man was staying in a tent in downtown Milwaukee, across from the city's Intermodal station where Greyhound buses and Amtrak trains come and go.

He and others who camp there say they were told to leave by Saturday, before the start of the Republican National Convention – or face possible arrest by Milwaukee police.

"How do you lock up a homeless person for being homeless?" Porter told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Porter had been staying there since June, near the convention’s outer “vehicle screening” perimeter.

Several individuals staying in tents, including Porter, told the Journal Sentinel they were asked to leave the area before the convention. Others living out of their cars in I-94 park-and-rides in southern Milwaukee County said they had received a similar message.

About 100 people are homeless downtown and in the adjacent area, according to Milwaukee County.

Representatives for the county, which has won national accolades for using a "Housing First" model, denied telling people they needed to move or leave the area. They said outreach workers do not have the authority to remove people from any location and referred questions to the Milwaukee Police Department.

"Our purview and our charges is trying to get them indoors," said Eric Collins-Dyke, deputy administrator for Milwaukee County Housing Services, in an interview. "We're not in charge of asking people to leave. That's just objectively inaccurate information."

In response to a reporter's question, the Milwaukee Police Department said: "MPD has made contact with unhoused individuals and provided resources to assist them in finding housing. We are not aware of any officers messaging otherwise."

Porter said six tents were in the area before police arrived at 6 a.m. one day last week. Only his and another tent remained on Friday. He and the other man, Daniel King, said they planned to stay.

"We have our property in there," King said. "I haven't gone to go get breakfast because I'm waiting for them to come."

On Thursday, a county outreach worker who was cleaning up an abandoned tent under the freeway told a Journal Sentinel reporter that the county was suggesting people leave the area. The outreach worker, who gave her card to the reporter, has not responded to follow-up calls from the Journal Sentinel.

Shelters step in to support unhoused people

Street Angels, a mobile homeless outreach organization based in Milwaukee, delivers meals and survival gear across the entire county three nights a week.

On Thursday, the agency included flyers to spread the word about the 24-hour reception center at the Marcia P. Coggs Human Services Center.

The county, city and Continuum of Care partners will open the center on Sunday to assist the area's unhoused population and victims of sex trafficking, according to a memo sent from the county to law enforcement, homeless outreach organizations and convention vendors.

People can cool down from the summer heat, drink water and eat food at the center, which also has 20 to 30 cots, Collins-Dyke said.

The center plans to direct people to St. Ben's Community Meal for overnight stays, which is offering 40 cots for men and 20 cots for women, Collins-Dyke said.

Shelly Sarasin, the co-founder and director of Street Angels, said she anticipated homeless people downtown would be pushed out of the area for the convention. She says the same thing happened in 2020 ahead of the Democratic National Convention, which turned into a mostly virtual event because of the pandemic.

"This isn't new," Sarasin said. "That's why there's been such a push to get people out of sight from park and rides and other safe spaces. It's to make us look a little bit better, but it won't change anyone's situation."

Homeless people were also removed from the downtown area in Cleveland when the Republican convention was held there in 2016, according to ABC News in Cleveland.

People living at park and rides say they feel pressure to leave

Within the one week that Bernadette Niemczynski has stayed at a park and ride on College Avenue, she says she's seen unmarked Wisconsin Department of Transportation vehicles and the Milwaukee County Sheriff's squads three times.

At one point, six sheriff's squad cars showed up, she said.

"They want us to leave but don't tell us where to go," Niemczynski said.

A DOT spokesman denied the agency was citing people and towing vehicles because of the Republican convention.

It's a plan that's been in motion for several months because of "safety and sanitary concerns," said Trevor Fannon.

Niemczynski said she and her husband started sleeping at the park and ride to save money to cover rental applications and a security deposit.

The DOT threatened to cite her the next time they see her tent, she said. A DOT employee gave her a phone number for a county outreach worker. She said she's called and texted but heard nothing back.

"The RNC is coming here, and they just want everybody out," Niemczynski said, referring to the convention. "They don't want Milwaukee to look so bad, but you got to be truthful. This is what people are going through."

Contributing: Ashley Luthern, Journal Sentinel