In a place with a long history of people living — and sometimes dying — under the Boardwalk, Atlantic City has launched an effort to address homelessness by preventing people from sleeping on public property and connecting them with shelter and services.
The effort comes only days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that municipalities can ban homeless encampments, something the city said would support its efforts to address homelessness.
It follows an April 19 fire that killed a man in a homeless encampment under the Boardwalk, months after another fire suspected of being started by homeless people burned a section of the boardwalk in front of Resorts casino.
The damage has since been repaired.
“We cannot claim to be this world-class resort (if) we don’t handle the problems that the resort sometimes encounters,” said Mayor Marty Small, a Democrat.
The city is implementing plans by its Boardwalk Improvement Group, which includes using state funds to pay for workers, training and equipment to seek out homeless people and offer them help, including transportation back to where they came from.