Community members say they won't wait for officials to clean Pawtucket underpass

PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WJAR) — Hypodermic needles and trash continue to build up at the I-95 underpass in Pawtucket.

Officials have yet to clean it up and after weeks of finger pointing and lack of action, a group of citizens took things in their own hands Wednesday.

Community members told NBC 10 the trash comes from people littering and partiers who come to the spot at night, not necessarily the homeless.

They want to clean it up to make it safer for them to live under the bridge.

"I didn't know it looked like this, it's sad," said Meaghan Woolhouse.

• CONTINUING COVERAGE: Pawtucket, state disagree on who is to blame for trash piles along I-95 underpasses

Woolhouse has been homeless for six years. Her eyes filled with tears when she visited the underpass with a friend Wednesday.

"She [Woolhouse's friend] has been living here for a year I don’t understand how like the governor or anybody could let residents how do you like people live like this," Woolhouse said.

A spokesperson for Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien said because the underpass is state land, the city doesn't have the power to "evict," people living there.

She said the mayor has been working with Housing Secretary Stefan Pryor to open new shelter in the city.

• CONTINUING COVERAGE: Pawtucket, state work on solution to clean up underpasses

The spokesperson said once a vendor is named to open and operate the shelter, the one or more homeless who now live under the George Street Bridge will finally be relocated.

When asked about the situation the Rhode Island Department of Housing sent NBC 10 the following statement:

“Outreach workers are speaking and working with the individuals involved to help them find and pursue alternative locations. Our State and City teams are working toward an outcome that will ensure both public safety and the well-being of these individuals. We thank our State and City colleagues for the daily collaboration.”

Until then, community members are doing their part to clean up the area around the encampments.

"This is the second time that we’ve done it so we just really wanted to make sure that folks in our community that are unhoused feel that there are people in the community that care about them and are willing to come together and clean up," BLM RI PAC President Harrison Tuttle told NBC 10.

The mayor's office said the shelter would be open and stay open, unlike a shelter that opened for a few nights when below zero temperatures hit the region a few weeks ago.