Volunteers clean up West Ashley homeless encampment, offer resources to those in need

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – More than a dozen volunteers gathered in West Ashley early Saturday morning to clean up a homeless encampment and help those in need.

The cleanup took place in a wooded area behind the Food Lion grocery store off Savannah Highway and Ashley Town Center Drive.

Charleston resident Olivia Grafton organized the event with help from Charleston County Sheriff Kristen Graziano after seeing numerous posts on social media. “People were complaining about it, but nobody was taking action. So, I took it upon myself to gather a group of people and come out here to start this event,” Grafton said.

Roughly 15 volunteers, including Sheriff Graziano, worked to clean up the encampments that were either destroyed or abandoned. They hope that offering a hand will remind others about the ongoing issues of homelessness in the area.

Grafton’s younger nephew, William, also participated in the community cleanup. “I just think it would help a lot,” he said, noting that he wanted to see if they could help some people in need.

In addition to cleaning up the area, volunteers met with those in need to hear their stories, offer food, and find resources to pave a new path forward.

“We want to see what their deal is … if we know their story, and if they have issues with mental health or substance or alcohol use, we have to know because the last thing we want to do is direct them to services and them not be successful. So, part of what we do is try to figure out what their story is and then find resources we can direct them to,” said Sheriff Graziano.

Sheriff Graziano said there is a community wellness problem and that it’s time to give people the resources they need to get well. “We’ve displaced folks long enough, it’s time to get in the trenches and help them out,” she said.

She added, “There’s no better feeling than to lift somebody up when they need it the most, and I think part of my goal as a person, as a human, in this community is to make things better for folks. If we can do that, one step at a time, one person at a time, I think that’s a win and it also helps clean up our community.”

The volunteers collected several bags of trash and removed old furniture and mattresses during the event.