LANSING — From a wood-chipped lot along the Grand River, tents, canopies and shelters spread into the remaining trees, where a few residents were going through their things or chatting with neighbors in the shaded encampment about 60 to 70 people call home.
The homeless encampment near Dietrich Park, north of Old Town, remains occupied even though the city sued the two property owners in May, trying to get them to break up the encampment and clear the land of debris.
Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Rosemarie Aquilina is determined to see that happen. She has put the onus on city and local nonprofit officials to help residents find housing. Aquilina has also ordered the camp’s residents to work with city officials, along with local social workers and homeless advocates, even if it has to be during weekly Wednesday meetings on the third floor of the courthouse she has been holding since Sept. 17…