Just south of 48th and Washington streets, more than a hundred people live near the railroad tracks that run near Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
“I lost my family and stuff and right after that I didn’t know where else to look,” Michael Jimenez told ABC15. “That’s how I became homeless.”
Jimenez said he has lived on the streets for about eight years.
“We’re not on drugs,” Jimenez said. “We’re just trying out here to survive, that’s all.”
He and others used to live in the Tempe River bottom but were forced to move in late 2022.
Now they say law enforcement has told them they need to move from this new location.
“It is sad. Big time, you know, it’s not good. It’s crazy. It’s like it’s never going to stop. I wish it would,” Jimenez told ABC15.
“It breaks my heart because the people need help and they’re all human beings with intrinsic worth and they have a lot to offer the community,” said Benjamin Jeffrey who is a service provider in Maricopa County.
The work is personal for Jeffrey, who was homeless himself before turning his life around. He’s now committed to helping others.