Crews work to clean up homeless encampment near downtown Phoenix

PHOENIX - The City of Phoenix is working to clean up a homeless encampment near downtown Phoenix on Wednesday.

Video from SkyFOX showed up the cleanup efforts happening near Ninth Street and Madison.

City crews scrubbed the area in a deep-leaning operation, after business owners complained about what they were seeing and smelling. City crews normally clean the 10 square block area every Wednesday.

Street sweepers, trash trucks, broom and HAZMAT suits moved down Madison Avenue for the cleanup effort.

"It's a big hassle. Busy. I'm glad they gave us a day's warning," said Angelia Cooley, who is homeless.

"It's good to see some action, because we haven't had a response and it's gotten worse, so it's a great thing to see the city down here to clean up the neighborhood," said business owner Ian Francis.

The area was reportedly plagued by trash buildup, along with problems associated with human waste. During the day, there are roughly 800 homeless people in the area, with possibly 400 being forced to sleep outside, overnight.

"There are no bathrooms around here, so when we close at 6:30, there is nowhere to go to the bathroom until the campus opens the restrooms in the morning," said Alexandra Lesnik with Andre House.

Some of the homeless said the few trash bins in the area can't handle a week's worth of trash that accumulates before garbage collection. Meanwhile, several non-profit agencies offered help to get the homeless off the streets.

Angelia is hoping for a place to call home, but until then, the street is her home. Trash and all.