WFIR photo

What appears to be a homeless camp is popping up not far from Roanoke’s airport — and right along the route many people would take to reach it. A woman who shot video of it says the camp delivers a bad image to visitors about to leave the city.  The video was taken on the flyover ramp from eastbound Hershberger Road to northbound Aviation Drive. Roanoke’s Homeless Assistance Team has been in place since the 1990’s to help people find permanent housing. It was not immediately clear if they are aware of this with this camp, and we  have an inquiry in with the city. WFIR’s Evan Jones has more

Roanoke social services officials say the number of homeless people in the valley has steadily declined in the last decade — but at the same time, the count of homeless living outside has gone up. Officials say while they work to provide them access to employment and housing, some homeless men and women with mental health or substance abuse problems are difficult to integrate into society. CLICK HERE for that story.