Molly Adams/Lawrence Times
People living at the city-run campsite in North Lawrence say they’re struggling with increased interlopers, assaults, theft and drug activity in the week since the city installed a fence intended to prevent visitors, and a woman said she was raped at the camp on Sunday.
Chansi Long/Lawrence Times
Emerging from their tents on Tuesday morning, residents at the city-run campsite in North Lawrence saw workers installing a fence designed to keep visitors out.
A plume of smoke has drifted skyward from the city-run campsite in North Lawrence ever since Ashley Sawyer, of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes, was found dead in her tent last week.
Ashley Sawyer’s family members learned that she died this week, but rather than sit with their loss, they are processing feelings of anger and confusion resulting from the police department’s failure to notify them properly.
Lawrence Accountability
Lawrence Times reporter Chansi Long was targeted by city staff and ordered by police to leave the North Lawrence campsite for people experiencing homelessness Tuesday night while other members of the public were allowed to remain. “That’s a problem,” a local First Amendment expert said.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Camp residents found a woman dead in her tent at the North Lawrence campsite for people experiencing homelessness Tuesday night, and police forced a reporter who was interviewing camp residents to leave.
Chansi Long/Lawrence Times
Residents of the North Lawrence campsite for people experiencing homelessness say city workers have denied some people showers in the hygiene trailer recently placed at the site, and a woman alleges that one city worker harassed her as she showered.
Lawrence’s indoor Winter Emergency Shelter will close after Sunday night, and then the Community Building will be closed for maintenance.
Chansi Long/Lawrence Times
The city will install a bathroom and shower trailer at the North Lawrence campsite for people experiencing homelessness, despite the plan violating city code. The city recently brought an office trailer to the support site, sparking confusion and controversy.
Molly Adams/Lawrence Times
Two residents of the North Lawrence camp for people experiencing homelessness were charged with crimes after a fight Saturday, but other residents and an advocate say the alleged victim was not supposed to be at the support site at all.
