‘We are terrified’: New Smyrna Beach neighbors concerned over large homeless camp

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — People in one New Smyrna Beach neighborhood say they’re upset about a large homeless camp near their homes.

They said they hear a lot of drunken parties, see people setting fires and other people getting aggressive.

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They say it’s all happening in a wooded area owned by both the city and county just off State Road 44.

Residents have reported everything from hearing people screaming in the middle of the night to fires being set.

Police say it’s a complicated issue.

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“You obviously just can’t arrest your way out of homelessness,”  Deputy Chief Christopher Kirk said. “What we do is we try to get all these people the proper resources they need, try to associate them with any institutions that can help them and then for our statutes and ordinances we hold them accountable.”

Drone 9 flew over the land and spotted several tents from above.

“We are terrified because we are not exactly sure who is back there,” one neighbor said.

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But we do know how they’re getting there. Channel 9 watched several people walk or ride bikes down a path just off State Road 44, each of them carrying tons of supplies.

“It’s not that any of us want anything bad to happen to any of these folks,” neighbor Ruthie Erb said. “We just want them to get some help.”

Police said a homeless liason officer is out in the area almost daily working to help the people living in the woods.

Officers said they had meetings with the county this week to talk about ways to resolve the issues since the property is on both city and county land.

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