After receiving a tip that the homeless encampment in Harmon was being bulldozed, our crew visited the site, only to learn that wasn't the case.

Instead, the Office of Homelessness and Poverty Prevention, with the help of the Department of Public Works, were working together to clear the government easement of trash and move dwellers' personal belongings out of the way.

According to OHAPP Director, Rob San Agustin, the cleanup was necessary due to growing safety concerns, in light of the near fatal auto-ped crash that happened there last week.

“Earlier this week, we went over there, actually on Tuesday. And you know, we needed to clean it up. It was a public safety concern,” said San Agustin. “With the belongings there that were stretching onto the street, it was becoming a public safety concern and it was an endangerment to the public and the people that are there.”

During their visit to the encampment, OHAPP was accompanied by other agencies such as Mañuelu and Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center to inform the dwellers of the project and offer assistance with accessing resources.

With some already moved into secure housing or back home with family.

“So we are trying to assess what housing options they have, if they’ve applied for all the benefits: SNAP, Medicaid, welfare, if they have their GHURA applications active,” added San Agustin. “We make sure that we go in and understand who is there, what they have, and then start figuring out what they need.”

San Agustin spoke to the encampments' violation of private property.

“From that easement, in the back, it's private property,” he said. “We are working with the owners of the property just to confirm if anyone there is allowed to stay there or if they’re not.”

In the meantime, if you are facing encampments on your private property, OHAPP recommends blocking access and hanging “No trespassing” signs as the first step to allow the government and law enforcement to assist further.