Part 1
Homelessness is on the rise in York County, and it's leaving businesses and customers alike concerned. The woods behind Cook-Out, a gas station, and the Cherry rd. Waffle House have been littered with trash and feces. Just a few short steps into the woods behind the Waffle House, you are met with an unforgettable smell of raw sewage. There is a maze of trash trails from one end to the other, and there is furniture dumped at the end of the trail behind Cook-Out.
We interviewed local residents and employees, and here's what they had to say:
A local Waffle House employee said that he finds homeless people in the dumpster in the mornings behind their establishment. When asked when the homeless arrived, he said January of this year and that the number is increasing.
A regular Big Lots customer said she saw someone doing drugs in the sink in their bathroom, and a shirtless man sitting on the ground at Cook-Out "picking his teeth with his toes or his toes with his teeth".
"With homeless comes prostitutes. I was in line at Cook-Out at 3AM and there was a prostitute soliciting her services right out in the open, right here in Rock Hill. I was astonished. York County, you need to clean up your act." - Cook Out Customer
One local employee says he feels bad for them, and he feeds them during his shifts.
2 other Cook-Out customers filmed 2 homeless people getting in the drive through line on foot.
Some local residents have theorized that the homeless have begun sleeping and congregating in that area due to the recent bus stop put there. And others have speculated that homelessness in the area will continue to rise with inflation rates being so high. One went so far as to say that he thinks, "Tepper bussed them in to get back at the City."
The Lantern wants to know what you think.
What is contributing to the rise in the homeless population?
What do you think the solutions are in helping the situation.
The Lantern will continue to cover the homeless situation in this new series: Homeless In the Hill.
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