Portsmouth Officers responded to multiple calls related to the city’s homeless crisis over the weekend.
Just before 11 am, a 9th Street caller reported an apparently high woman had been on the levee for several hours. When officers spoke to the woman, they said she appeared to have some mental health issues. They determined she wasn’t a danger to herself, and she agreed to go to a homeless shelter.
Half an hour later, a caller said was a group of 5-9 small children at the homeless camp under the bridge near York Park. The caller said the children were not dressed for the weather and did not appear to be supervised. However, police were unable to locate them.
An employee from Iron Body Fitness contacted officers to report that individuals living in the homeless camp on the hill behind their property on Kendall were burning things and asked officers to disperse the residents and make sure the fires were put out.
At 4:30 pm, employees from Cash America said a homeless man was starting a campfire in the woods behind the building.
An Alexandria House resident contacted police at 7 am to report two homeless people were sleeping in the common area. Officers spoke to them, and they gathered their things to leave.
Witnesses reported a man lying on the ground in front of Columbia Theater just before 5 pm, but he was gone by the time officers arrived.
Around 5:45 pm, officers and the fire department responded to a fire at the homeless camp underneath the Young Street Overpass. It was quickly extinguished.
