CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — City crews began the cleanup of a tent city that 3News first reported on May 27.
The Salvation Army reached out to those inhabiting the homeless camp, located near the Oveal Williams Center.
The head of the local Salvation Army, Captain Patrick Gesner, said they made the offer to those living in the tents last week as word of the growing community sparked concerns among local officials who said it was illegal for a tent city to exist on public land.
Gesner said the first people to seek help talked about drug dealers and violent people taking over the tent city. He said he was surprised by the number who reached out for help.
"Originally, we thought we were going to have about eight people, eight or nine people we thought originally, we were going to have, and after a couple of days afterward, after we got into the office on Monday it ended up being 41," Gesner said.
"41 people and some of them included people who had little children. You know, two-years-old, three-years-old, four-years-old."
Gesner said besides finding room in the shelter, they're also putting some families in local motels and now they need the public's help.
Not only are they seeking donations which can be mailed or sent through their web page, he's also hoping to find landlords willing to offer affordable housing for some of the families.
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