Good afternoon. This is the WFHB Local News for Monday, December 14th, 2020. 

In today's program, we present two news features - the first of which provides a timeline of the dismantling of the homeless encampment at Seminary Park.

Then, we have the latest edition of A Few Minutes with the Mayor, coming up later in the program.

First, we turn to the WFHB News special report on the dismantling of the homeless encampment at Seminary Park. This is a collection of volunteer submissions stitched together to provide context on the story.

Hands Off The Homeless:

A flyer was sent out ahead of the protest, which took place on Friday at the Monroe County Courthouse.

On Friday, over 100 people gathered at the Monroe County Courthouse for a protest titled, “Hands off the Homeless: Immediate End to the War on Unhoused Camps.” 

The protest happened after the Bloomington Police Department dismantled a homeless encampment at Seminary Park last Wednesday. 

Mia Beach and Hugh Farrell, producers of Kiteline, talked to two participants of the protest on Zoom - both local advocates for people experiencing homeless. The sources said they wanted to remain anonymous. 

Last Tuesday, WFHB Correspondent Aaron Comforty interviewed Trevor Richardson — a representative of the Homeless Community affiliated with the Bloomington Homeless Coalition. 

The interview happened ahead of the Board of Park Commissioners meeting — where the board voted down an amendment which would have banned tents in city parks during daytime hours. However, tents are already banned in city parks during nighttime hours from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.

On Tuesday, due to technical difficulties on a tight deadline, Aaron Comforty’s interview was cut short. Today, we revisit that interview in full. 

Correspondents Jake Jacobson and Aaron Comforty covered developments in the story during last week’s news briefs. For background and context, we will look back at some of our coverage from last week. First, we revisit Aaron Comforty’s report from Wednesday on the Board of Park Commissioners meeting. 

News Brief - Wednesday, December 9th

On Wednesday evening, in a three to one vote,  the City of Bloomington Board of Parks Commissioners voted down a policy that would have essentially banned tents in city parks.

The policy was recommended by Parks and Recreation Administrator, Puala McDevitt. It was widely criticized as targeting people experiencing homelessness who have been driven to set up tents for shelter from the winter weather.

Parks Board Member Israel Herrera-Cardenas spoke about the urgency of the vote.  

About 225 people attended the zoom meeting yesterday. Citing the mass turnout, advocates for the homeless are claiming a small victory after the vote.

December 9, 2020; Bloomington, Indiana: Members of the Bloomington Police Department pack up tents to take them to a city storage facility where the property can be reclaimed after Seminary Park was cleared out Wednesday night. The BPD and social workers arrived in the park around 10 p.m. to tell people camping overnight that they could stay in Wheeler Mission overnight, but they needed to leave. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian).

On Thursday, December 10th, correspondent Jake Jacobson reported on the dismantling of the homeless encampment at Seminary Park. 

News Brief - Thursday, December 10th

On Wednesday night, members of the Bloomington Police Department dismantled an encampment at Seminary Park downtown. The camp served as a means of shelter for Bloomington residents who are experiencing homelessness.

According to a report by The Bloomingtonian, police showed up at around 10 p.m., and let people staying in the camp know that they had to leave the p...