Dozens of residents, volunteers and service providers described a chaotic, cold-day clearing of homeless encampments near Sand Island and Fahey Bridge during public comment at Bethlehem’s Dec. 8 city council meeting.

"This was a forcible relocation of many people’s lives," said Dominic Trabasi, who said he attended the clearing and thanked the city for offering some resources but warned that sweeps can be “dangerous, counterproductive, costly, and harmful” to people being relocated.

Witnesses and mutual-aid volunteers described scant help on the day of the sweep: Lee, a Bethlehem resident who said he was at the site early in the morning, said police and private security were present but few city resources were available until volunteers returned with a pickup at about 9:45 p.m. "They had no tent, they had no food, they’re starving, they’re shaking," he said, describing people moving belongings through snow and risking hypothermia.

City staff described a longer outreach effort and disputed portrayals that no services were offered. Miss Wenrick of Community Connections said outreach intensified after Norfolk Southern posted the area in August, that staff and community partners conducted weekly outreach, and that point-in-time counts identified 92 unique individuals in the affected locations. "During this period, 85 percent were successfully connected to at least one service," she said, listing case management, treatment, medical care and housing navigation.

Officials provided a brief inventory of on-the-ground outcomes tied to the December activity: Wenrick said staff connected one person to Victory House, two to Bethlehem Emergency Shelter (BES) and two people to single-room-occupancy units; the Health Bureau deployed a mobile clinic on-site, and the city said grant funds were available for storage and transport when a person agreed to a housing plan.

Mayor Reynolds and staff also outlined forward-looking projects the city is pursuing: the administration has committed $2 million toward a $6 million Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering project at Christ Church UCC and said grant applications are pending to cover the remaining $4 million. Officials also said an 11-unit family shelter conversion on Packer Avenue has been fully funded and will move to an RFP for design and environmental review in January.

Not all people accepted offered placements or services, officials acknowledged. "Sometimes people deny those services," Wenrick said, adding that stabilizing outcomes can require repeated outreach and that some people choose alternatives or outside placements. Administration staff also said that Norfolk Southern owns the majority of the sites—roughly 18 acres—with small slivers owned by PennDOT (about 0.4 acres), UGI (0.08 acres) and the city (about 0.25 acres east of the Fahey Bridge), which affected where the city could unilaterally act.

Volunteers and community members urged more planning for the day-of logistics that leave people with bulky possessions and limited ability to relocate: Valerie Noonan said volunteers made seven pickup trips to move six people’s items after spending hours in the cold helping neighbors. Noonan and others asked the city to anticipate the need for transport, storage and warming support during future clearings.

Officials said cleanup work contracted by Norfolk Southern is expected to take about two weeks and that remaining small encampment areas—Mincey Trail was identified—were scheduled for follow-up outreach later in the week. Council members and the mayor repeatedly described homelessness as a regional challenge and urged county-level engagement and more state or federal funding to support long-term shelter and housing solutions.

Council members asked for continuing updates and for administration to brief the incoming council and new county executives in 2026 about regional cooperation possibilities. The administration said it would continue weekly outreach and biweekly coordination calls with providers.

What’s next: officials expect additional outreach and a Mincey Trail clearing later in the week; the BES shelter project will proceed through design and grant steps in early 2026.