By Pat Culverhouse

Homelessness is considered a growing national problem, and an incident involving individuals living in a wooded area near a local neighborhood shows Minden isn’t immune to the situation.

Minden police officers evicted a group of homeless individuals Wednesday from their makeshift compound located in woods off Clerk St. near the Minden High School softball complex.

That location, Chief of Police Jared McIver said, was the reason the homeless individuals were told to pack their belongings and leave the area.

“We had reports that individuals were coming out of those woods and wandering onto the softball field during practice. The girls were understandably frightened,” McIver said. “We’re not going to allow a potential threat to our young people.”

McIver said the encampment, located along a small creek and right-of-way that runs through the area north of Clerk St., seems to have been in place for some time.

“Judging from the amount of trash and other items, it looks like they may have been here a couple of weeks if not longer,” he said.

Although police were uncertain of the number of homeless at the camp, tents were found that could accommodate several individuals. One was a collection of blankets and plastic strung on ropes among the trees; another seemed to be a more expensive tarp-like setup, the chief said.

Those evicted Wednesday morning were given until the afternoon to pack up and leave. McIver said the camp was on property owned by the city and the individuals could be charged with trespassing if they did not move on.

“Technically, a trespassing charge can be made against individuals setting up on any property,” he said.

McIver said the camp on Clerk St. isn’t the only one located in wooded areas inside the city limits. Officers are aware of others where individuals have been living in makeshift conditions.

“We’re aware of others, but so far there’s been no reports of individuals living there causing any problems,” he said. “We know where they are and we watch them. If there should be any type of problem, they will be told to leave.”

McIver said he sympathized with individuals who may have fallen on hard times or, in isolated cases, could be suffering from some sort of mental problem and find themselves without a home.

“I understand people may have problems we might not really understand, but we can’t allow our sympathy for others override public safety,” he said. “We won’t allow this to become widespread in our city.”