Homeless protest continues in front of Cedar Rapids City Hall

CEDAR RAPIDS - As the sun rose over the city early Thursday morning, Daniel Reed was tired, but determined.

Reed had stayed up all night at City Hall, protesting the city's decision to break up a homeless camp near Osborne Park. While Reed himself isn't homeless - he's been able to find a place to stay while seeking permanent housing - he can empathize with those displaced by the city's actions. He said he 'believes in the cause.”

'We continue to put out the message,” he said. 'We continue to ask one question: where do we go now?”

Reed - the mediator for the group of transients kicked out of the city-owned land Wednesday after the police department received complaints of a large bonfire - said four people stayed at city hall all night. Most of them did not sleep, though around 7 a.m. a police officer asked one person sleeping on the ground to move.

Though the group, carrying signs made out of pizza boxes, is small, Reed said they've received support. Passers-by in cars honked, Little Caesars Pizza donated 15 pizzas and others have dropped off food.

'We're going to have food coming out of our ears,” Reed said.

Reed said the police have been 'excellent” to the group and checked up on them throughout the night, after the group first assembled to protest late Wednesday.

Also joining the protest was Chad Englebart, who said he used to live under the Interstate 380 overpass, but now owns his own home. Englebart said the city needs to do more than provide transients with a list of resources, noting that most homeless are already aware those resources exist. Instead, Englebart said he wants the city to set aside a place for the homeless to camp safety and provide a path to permanent housing.

'I need you to tell me how to get housed,” Englebart said.