West Springfield residents concerned of homeless community living in park

WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - We’re getting answers on West Springfield residents’ concerns over homeless men and women calling a local park their home, and the city’s response.

It seems like the community members feel the city is still not doing enough to deal with the homeless taking up space.

We spoke with a couple of residents who once loved walking through the Connecticut River Walkway and Lagodich Park, but now they’re lacing up their sneakers elsewhere over safety concerns.

“I’ve seen homeless people there and the homeless people have been more aggressive. And as a woman, I feel that I’m not safe walking down there, even with my dogs or my husband.” Said West Springfield resident Susan Muncy.

To give some background, homeless people were previously seen in Lagodich Park. They moved from that area, but our Western Mass News crew did stumble upon what appears to be another encampment near the wayside avenue entrance of the walkway.

We reached out to the city on both matters, the park and the walkway, they decided to keep their comments solely on the park at this point. They said: “The individuals have vacated Lagodich Park. The Town has connected them with social services and will continue to encourage them to accept the assistance that they need to move forward toward more stable housing and support.”

It’s currently unclear what this means for the encampment we found in the walkway. As always, we’ll keep you updated with any further developments on the topic here online, and on air.