LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — A story we've been following since last year— is the large homeless population in central Arkansas. In November, there were various camps in Little Rock and North Little Rock that were cleared out of the metro area.
Over the weekend, Benton police officers removed what they said are abandoned homeless camps around the city.
The Arkansas Department of Transportation once again cleared out homeless camps near interstates to clean up right-of-way areas.
With little to no space available for our displaced population, there have been questions about when we will have real answers to this concern.
An ARDOT spokesperson told us that they gave a week's notice to people in the area. However, Caleb Alexander-Mckinzie, a volunteer with The Van, said that those notices may not be seen by everyone in the camps.
"These folks may have been in the hospital for a week. They may have gotten a hotel for a week. They may not have been back to that site. They may have no idea this is happening," said Mckinzie.
If that were the case, Mckinzie explained that some crucial and necessary items may be lost, like hygiene items, clothes, birth certificates, and social security documents.
Since shelters are overcrowded at the moment, there are little to no options for where a person can go next.
"That's their question is where do I go and we can't provide them an answer," Mckinzie described.
While there aren't many solutions at the moment— there are several on the way.
Pulaski County and Little Rock are creating tiny home villages that will house hundreds of people in a safe environment.
The Salvation Army also hopes to expand by building a new shelter that will add between 150- 200 more beds.