City and Douglas County Sheriff clear South Omaha homeless encampment

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - A homeless encampment in a South Omaha neighborhood near 22nd and L has been cleared out after taking over a private property for many years.

Just a week ago, trash and discarded food filled the sidewalk near the corner of the intersection.

“There was a Facebook page called ‘We are South Omaha’ page and they shared a disturbing situation of a homeless encampment right on the corner,” Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson said.

Now, it’s all gone.

The city and Sheriff Hanson worked with the property owner to clean up the area and put up a ‘Do Not Trespass’ sign.

”That will allow law enforcement to take immediate action if the encampment returns again and if people trespass on the property,” Hanson said.

However, Hanson tells 6 News he and the city aren’t stopping there. They plan to do the same to the other homeless encampments, like the one on 6th and Marcy Street.

They say they will not just clear these encampments, but also get people who stay overnight in these areas the help they need.

“To get healthy and receive services on where to go to get help whether that’s a shelter and counterbalancing that harm reduction with the law enforcement to keep that community safe,” Hanson said.

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