Homeless in Lakewood Tent City Can Stay During Court Proceedings

Those living in a makeshift camp in Lakewood can stay for now while homeless advocates and township officials settle eviction proceedings in court, a judge ruled on Friday.

Superior Court Judge Joseph Foster said that, while the current living situation is not sustainable, he would not order the to abandon the Tent City camp, NJ.com reported. 

Lakewood officials want to clear the area of its homeless population, who they have said are living illegally on public land. The Huffington Post reported that advocates for those living in the camp near Cedar Bridge Avenue maintain that Ocean County is required by state law to provide shelter for the .

Jeffrey Wild, an attorney fighting the township, said that the camp is an "emergency shelter" and that the about 80 homeless people living there have "a right to survive" on public land.

In October, a regular meeting for help. Though ongoing litigation prevented the freeholders from speaking about Tent City, then-Director Joseph Vicari said their arguments would be reviewed.  

Ocean County annually expends up to $20 million via the Board of Social Services on homelessness assistance.