Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport has become a vast, “dystopian” encampment for the city’s growing homeless population, creating grave safety concerns among workers and passengers, who say they have been followed and harassed.
Images of filthy temporary shelters set up inside the terminals of a major transportation hub are shocking. One photograph depicts a homeless person sleeping in a terminal vestibule.
“It is beyond control. “None of us feel safe,” Vonkisha Chatman, a night-shift custodian at Terminals 1 and 2, told CBS News.
Chatman stated that she and her coworkers have been harassed by the undesirable guests, who leave behind trash and filthy restrooms.
“They will approach you from behind. Catherine Thompson, another airport employee, told a news station that this man followed us last night.
From the time we arrive until we depart the following morning, they will be present.
The two ladies claim that their managers have instructed them to call the police, but that officers have informed them that they cannot interfere unless the workers are physically assaulted.
“They just tell us to be careful because they have no control over the situation,” Chatman added.
One Twitter user shared images of a homeless guy lying on the floor of Terminal 2 and urged Mayor Lori Lightfoot to address the issue.
“Please, @chicagosmayor, clean up this city!” This is the current state of O’Hare airport, with homeless people sleeping all over Terminal 2 and yelling in people’s faces, a worried individual wrote earlier this month.
“This is the first impression people have of this city,” she continued.
Between a glass door and an escalator, numerous homeless people were camping barefoot with their belongings and trash, according to a photograph supplied by a second frustrated tourist.
This photo was shot today at O’Hare @fly2ohare Terminal 1 baggage claim. They wrote that Chicago needs better leadership.
A third individual who landed at Terminal 3 stated that she had “never seen such a homeless problem in my fifty years in Cook County.”
“It’s not that cold outside! Also, aggressively hit up with the phrase “you need a ride?” in the baggage. “The setting was dystopian,” they wrote.
Jessica Dubuar of Haymarket Center, which provides services to the homeless at the airport, told CBS News that the number is growing year.
According to the research, Haymarket observed 618 additional homeless people at the airport in 2022, a 53 percent increase over the previous year’s total of 431.
Dubuar, when asked why the homeless are camping at O’Hare instead of shelters, responded, “They’re full.” The shelters are crowded.
“Many people do not end up at the airport because that is their objective — it is their last resort,” she said.
The Chicago Department of Aviation and the Department of Family Support Services finance Haymarket Center.
“January was one of our busiest months at O’Hare,” Dubuar told Block Club Chicago, a non-profit journalism organization. We are observing an increase in the number of new individuals and interactions within our system.
According to a 2022 report by the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, about 65,611 city residents experienced homelessness in 2020, Mary Tarullo, associate director of policy and strategy, told Block Club Chicago.
Haymarket Center, which assists the homeless at the airport, observed 618 new homeless individuals at the airport, a 53 percent increase from the 431 individuals they encountered the previous year.
Getty Pictures
According to the data, the number has increased by 53% from 431 a year earlier.
Getty Pictures
The director of The Northwest Side Homeless Outreach, Monica Dillon, stated that the city is “stretched thin” attempting to address the expanding problem.
She stated, “We need more social services and more money to work on homelessness prevention, homelessness outreach, and shelter outreach.”
In an interview with Block Club Chicago, a homeless guy who had spent the night at Terminal 2 explained his dilemma.
The man identified as Shorty told the outlet, “I need surgery because my lung collapsed and then I developed pneumonia.”
He reported receiving disability benefits and a desire to undergo surgery shortly.
Since Delta Airlines relocated out of Terminal 2 and into Terminal 5, Jessy Pearl, a Transportation Security Administration agent at O’Hare, has observed a rise in the number of homeless individuals.
“There are more homeless people, and there is more activity at Terminal 2 because there are fewer passengers,” Pearl told the Chicago Tribune.
According to Block Club Chicago, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded Chicago $60 million as part of a $315 million funding package to address homelessness.
The funds will be utilized to expand placement services.
The Chicago Department of Aviation stated in a statement to CBS News that homeless encampments at airports are “common” throughout the winter.
“The CDA is aware of the growing number of individuals without shelter at O’Hare International Airport. During the winter months, this is a frequent occurrence at this airport and airports around the country, according to the statement.
The Department of Family and Support Services said that homeless individuals may not always accept assistance immediately.
“Sometimes, individuals experiencing homelessness do not accept services, and outreach teams must engage them repeatedly before trust is established and clients are willing to accept assistance,” the government explained.
“Outreach is not enforcement, and DFSS will continue to respond to the needs of the community using trauma-informed, strengths-based approaches,” the report concluded.
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