Homeless reassured on pope

Plans for Pope Francis' visit to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway will include consideration of the homeless people who frequently sleep there, organizers reiterated Wednesday.

That may include some prized ticketed seating near the front of the stage for the Sept. 26 Festival of Families.

The assurances came a day after a homeless man approached Mayor Nutter outside City Hall and tussled with a member of his security detail, forcing Nutter to pry the man off the aide.

The man, identified as George Creamer, later told NBC10 that he was upset over plans to clear the Parkway of homeless people during the World Meeting of Families from Sept. 22 to 25 and the papal visit that weekend.

Organizers said Wednesday that's not entirely the plan.

Will O'Brien, a project manager at Project HOME, has been working with World Meeting organizers to ensure that the homeless are fairly treated. He's on a committee created by the World Meeting to address hunger and homelessness in the planning for the event.

O'Brien said Wednesday that the Parkway will be cleared to enable a security sweep at some point before the pope's arrival, but that everyone - including the homeless - will be permitted back in through security gates.

"One mandate of the committee was to protect the dignity and rights of people who are homeless, to make sure there is no detrimental treatment," O'Brien said.

He said he did not want to see what happened during the pope's visit to the Philippines in January occur in Philadelphia: "You saw hundreds of homeless bused out of the city and no one wanted that to happen here."

Philadelphia police will lead the Parkway clearing, O'Brien said, with staff from the city's Offices of Behavioral Health and Supportive Housing to provide assistance.

Once security fences go up and the Parkway reopens (ideally a few hours later, O'Brien said), the homeless will be able to enter as part of the huge expected crowds.

"They would be subject to the same restrictions around things that can't come in," he said. An official list of prohibited items has not yet been released.

O'Brien estimated that 150 to 200 people sleep on the Parkway during the summer. Project HOME has started sending people out to talk with the homeless ahead of the visit, alerting them to what will be happening and seeing what they want to do.

City officials have said no one will be permitted to camp out on the Parkway overnight Sept. 26. That is the night the pope will be the special guest of the Festival of Families, a giant gathering with international stars Andrea Bocelli and Juanes, and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

"If a significant number of folks want to go somewhere else, we will see if there are alternative placements" for camping, he said.

Another question is whether feeding programs will be permitted that Saturday and Sunday. More than a dozen groups typically provide food to the homeless on the Parkway in a given week.

Donna Crilley Farrell, executive director of the World Meeting of Families Philadelphia, stressed plans are still in flux.

"From the very beginning, it's been important to us that the dignity of those less fortunate, those who live on the street, is respected as we get ready for the huge crowds that are coming," she said.

She said the committee on hunger and homelessness set up by the World Meeting is looking into reserving some ticketed seats near the front of the stage for people who have experienced homelessness.

"This has been a pastoral priority of Pope Francis," Farrell noted. "His Christmas gift was sleeping bags for the homeless, he's putting in showers in St. Peter's Square. We would be remiss if this was not something we're considering."