Gastonia residents want solutions for increasing number of people without homes

GASTONIA, N.C. — After a man believed to be camping in someone’s yard died, Gastonia residents are asking for help with the city’s homeless population.

Neighbors are shaken. Gina Messer showed Channel 9′s Ken Lemon the items in her backyard left by people who came to camp in the woods nearby, just off Interstate 85 near Target.

“We’ve had four to five homeless camps,” Messer said.

She said the issue became troubling when the man’s body was found in the stream that runs right behind her home.

“It’s scary because it’s happening in our back door,” she said.

>> In the video at the top of the page, how neighbors are responding to the issue by taking matters into their own hands.

(WATCH BELOW:Body found in Catawba County creek; death investigation underway)

Body found in Catawba County creek; death investigation underway

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