Homeless camps in Cherry Hill?

The shantytown tucked away in the woods a short distance from a quaint Cherry Hill neighborhood could be a homeless shelter or a hangout spot.

Police were dispatched this week to investigate two makeshift shelters recently discovered in the Colwick section of this Camden County community.

It appeared that both sites were abandoned and no one was currently living in either, Police Chief William P. Monaghan said.

"It doesn't look like it is new," Monaghan said. "We really can't figure out what the issue was - whether it was someone living there or someone hanging out there."

The camps are on a 25-acre site owned by the township just off Lenape Road and across from a busy office complex. They are barely visible from a pathway.

Both were constructed with plywood and draped with tarp. One was more elaborately built and was stocked with a bucket, blankets, a grill, and items that could provide shelter. A rosary attached with a telephone cord hung from a 2-by-4 above the second shack.

The area surrounding both shanties was strewed with litter, shopping carts, and debris, including mattresses and beer bottles. Residents told police they had not seen anyone in the area recently.

The discovery nevertheless stunned nearby residents. The area is bordered by a park, a gated apartment complex, and a private lake.

"This is a shame, that people do this," said Jerry Srodes of Allentown, who was out for a walk with granddaughter Sydney, 7, who lives nearby. "It's so close to a well-kept area. You wouldn't think that people live here."

A community of about 71,000 residents, Cherry Hill has a median household income of $89,567, according to census data. The poverty rate is 4.9 percent.

"My heart bleeds for the homeless," said Lisa Monterrosa, president of the Colwick Civic Association. "There's a place for less fortunate people, and it's not the woods of Colwick."

Colwick resident Ray Johnson, a Century 21 real estate agent, said he discovered a shack last year at Haddonfield Road and Maple Avenue after following a suspected bike thief to that location. The shack has since been removed, he said.

"He had food, clothes, and bags," said Johnson, who has lived in Cherry Hill since 2000. "He clearly was living there."

Monaghan said homeless camps have popped up around the township in wooded areas occasionally, but are not as common as in some urban settings.

"We know it is something that pops up from time to time. Unfortunately, people get down on their luck and they are forced to encounter certain things," the chief said.

Monaghan said police would continue to make daytime and nighttime patrols in the area to see if anyone is living in the woods. Police have been trained to offer social services and housing information, he said.

"Our goal would be to try to get them help and point them in the right direction," the chief said.

The shacks will probably eventually be removed, Monaghan said. But police first would like to give the occupants a chance to retrieve their belongings, he said.

Township spokeswoman Bridget Palmer said public works crews would be dispatched to clean up the area.

Last year, 2015, NJ Counts, the state's yearly Point-in-Time count, found 10,211 homeless people in the state, down from the previous year's 11,856, according to Monarch Housing Associates, the nonprofit group that oversaw the survey.

Burlington County ranked No. 2 behind Essex County, with 13.2 percent of the state's homeless population. Camden County had 6 percent and Gloucester County 1.2 percent, according to the survey.

The biggest reasons for homelessness were being forced to leave a shared residence (20.4 percent), loss or reduction of job income or benefits (18.3 percent), and eviction (14.4 percent), according to the survey.

mburney@phillynews.com

856-779-3814 @mlburney