The first block of 'The Zone' is getting cleaned and cleared. Here's what's next

This week, Phoenix will begin the arduous task of clearing out the city’s largest homeless encampment.

The area, known as “The Zone,” is located near 12th Avenue and Madison Street, just a few minutes’ walk from the Arizona Capitol complex. Dense rows of camping tents, blue tarps and other makeshift shelters line the sidewalk for blocks. Some people have been staying in the encampment for just a few days; others have lived there for years.

As the city prepares to empty the area, we break down who lives in The Zone, why it's being disbanded and what happens next.

Who lives in the encampment?

Between 600 and 1,000 people are in the encampment on any given night, city reports show.

That doesn’t include the roughly 900 people sheltered at the Human Services Campus, which sits at the center of The Zone and is home to over a dozen nonprofits that serve people experiencing homelessness.

Many people in The Zone are chronically homeless, meaning they have a disability — such as a serious mental illness or substance use disorder — and have been experiencing homelessness for a long stretch of time. Others are older adults or people otherwise on fixed incomes who lost their housing and, given the Valley’s skyrocketing housing costs, haven’t been able to secure another place to stay.

Why is 'The Zone' being cleared out?

A judge in March ordered Phoenix to remove tents in the area.

The order was part of a lawsuit, Brown v. City of Phoenix, that nearby business and property owners filed against the city in August. The lawsuit claims that the encampment is a public nuisance that has subjected the business and property owners to violence, damaged property and more and that the city hasn’t done enough to fix the problem.

A trial in the lawsuit is scheduled for July 10. Phoenix has been ordered to show that it’s made meaningful progress on clearing out The Zone by then.

When, where and how will the cleanup take place?

The Zone will be cleared out block by block, with the first cleanup scheduled for the morning of Wednesday, May 10, at Ninth Avenue between Washington and Jefferson streets. About 20 tents lined the block as of last week.

Once a block is cleared, people will not be able to return to it, said Rachel Milne, director of Phoenix’s Office of Homeless Solutions. If they do, they could be cited or arrested, a city notice passed out to residents states.

The protocol is a revised version of the enhanced cleanups the city has been conducting in the area since December.

The city has not yet announced when the remaining blocks of the encampment will be cleared.

What will happen to the people living there?

Phoenix has already started relocating some people to indoor shelter and hopes to be able to offer shelter to every person in the encampment, city spokesperson Kristin Couturier said.

The heat relief shelter at 28th and Washington streets, along with the Respiro and Central Arizona Shelter Services shelters on the Human Services Campus, are among the places that will be available to accommodate residents of The Zone on Wednesday, Couturier said.

The 600 beds at CASS's downtown shelter are almost always full, but the organization has gone over that limit before, CEO Lisa Glow said, adding that the shelter already put more mats on the floor to prepare for people coming from The Zone.

Community Bridges Inc. has also set aside shelter space for residents of The Zone, including hotel rooms and beds in congregate shelters, President and CEO John Hogeboom said.

The city is also still "actively pursuing" a structured campground option, Couturier said. She did not provide further details.

Juliette Rihl covers housing insecurity and homelessness for The Arizona Republic. She can be reached at jrihl@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @julietterihl.

Coverage of housing insecurity on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Arizona Community Foundation.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix plans to offer 'The Zone' residents shelter as clearout begins