Burch says homeless booted from Paseo in anticipation of tourism

 

Department of  Parks and Recreations Director John Burch told KUAM's Containing COVID it was his decision to boot the homeless out of Paseo.

In a heated call this morning, Burch said the call to clear homeless who had been sleeping in pavilions at Paseo was made as part of plans to reopen the island to tourism.

Homeless were told they had to leave Paseo, and many we talked to said they had nowhere to go, but Burch said having homeless in the heart of our island's capital was not a good look.

"If we have tourists here we're going to have to bring it to certain areas and show our island and what you're telling me is leave them in the park, leave them at Ypao, leave them at Matapang, leave them at Liberty Park and bring our tourists in and say 'this is Guam," he said.

Burch acknowledged most of the homeless migrated to Paseo because of failed plans to shelter them in tents in Paseo stadium, and he said that if the homeless aren't moved out of tourist spots, the consequences could be catastrophic for economic recovery.

"This is an ongoing problem and it's going to continue, but now that they're out there publicly where people can see them, now people are starting to be concerned and I hope that some way we can find a miracle somewhere that we can actually take care of these people," he said. "But we also have to take care of the rest of the population too. We have to revitalize our economy and one of the major things is to go out and fix up the most visible parks that we have."

Meanwhile, plans for a homeless shelter have had to be amended four times, according to Lt. Gov. Josh Tenorio. He added that the administration is "behind schedule" in its plans to house Guam's homeless population.