Dallas Closes Another Homeless Encampment Near Fair Park

Sofas, mattresses, crumpled tents and the stench of urine were most of what remained of yet another homeless encampment city officials pushed to close Tuesday.Residents of the tent city between 2nd and 3rd Avenues under Interstate 30 were told earlier this month that they had to clear out by Wednesday.A few lingered Tuesday, packing up their belongings, but most others had already left, many moving to other grassy spots under highway overpasses. The clearing out and cleaning up of homeless encampments has become commonplace in Dallas. The 2nd Avenue homeless village, near the State Fair of Texas fairgrounds, was once home to about 70 people and is the fourth major encampment closed in the past year.The trend started last May when city officials shuttered Tent City, a sprawling encampment under Interstate 45 near downtown. It had been home to 300 people, many of whom simply dragged their tents under a different overpass.City crews regularly clean up smaller encampments scattered throughout the city, and social workers visit those living outside to encourage them to go to a shelter.  Continue reading...