A once-thriving suburb is now a hellhole as furious residents claim lawmakers are dismissing their concerns.
Aviation Park in Lakewood, Colorado, was a magnet for young families but now locals say it’s like living in a homeless encampment.
‘What is beautiful and what made me decide to live here…is like a nightmare,’ resident Cat Stone told CBS.
Her balcony now overlooks a growing number of tents.
‘It used to be one or two occasionally, but then I don’t know what happened,’ Stone said.
Disgusted residents say they’ve found syringes, human excrement, condoms, and drugs littered around the area.
Locals say they’ve filed reports about the homeless issue but claim they’re being stonewalled by officials who say it’s a ‘complex issue’.
‘I got a nice letter that says, you know, it’s very difficult what we are doing, we are understaffed and overworked, and sometimes it will take up to 48 hours for us to react to one of your reports,’ Stone said.
Aviation Park in Lakewood, Colorado, was once a magnet for young families
Disgusted residents say they’ve found syringes, human excrement, condoms, and drugs littered around the area
‘Then a few days later I get a message that this case has been closed,’ she said, although she sees no change outside her window.
‘They used to have kids over here, but everybody is scared to even walk over here now,’ resident Ruben Guerra told Fox 31.
‘It used to be a really nice park, but now it’s turned into just a campground for the homeless,’ he told the outlet.
Even when police do sweeps of the area, residents say those looking for shelter only wander off a few blocks away before eventually coming back.
The ongoing problem has led to long-term residents picking up and leaving.
Susan Clark has had three neighbors leave already, and said one of her neighbors struggled to sell her home.
‘In fact, she was the lady that had found a drug addict in her chicken coop,’ she told Fox 31.
Residents say they have complained about the issue only to be stonewalled by officials
Residents have reportedly packed up and left the area due to the issue
City officials argued that cleanup efforts and sweeps happen on a regular basis, while also acknowledging homeless people do return to the park, Fox 31 reported.
Officials reportedly told Clark they do not have the resources to keep up with the growing homeless population.
The Daily Mail has contacted the city for comment.
