CLARENDON, Va. (DC News Now) — A USPS Post Office in Clarendon is locking up the building overnight because of concerns related to homelessness.
The post office said it’s had to address a number of sanitary and safety issues, prompting flyers on the facility’s doors to state the building will close from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. each day to protect it and its customers.
“I honestly think that’s really crazy,” Olivia Johnson said. “I’ve seen homeless people kind of wandering around here so that is really sad.”
The U.S. Postal Service said people experiencing homelessness have been urinating, defecating and starting fires at that location.
“I’ve been coming here for 20 or 30 years. I’ve experienced some of the problems that they’re having with the homeless sleeping there overnight, urinating. I haven’t seen any fires yet, but I understand the difficulty they have,” David Lamdin said.
Although many recognize there could be issues – a bigger one for some people is the need to provide more resources to people who are experiencing homelessness.
“A lot of the homeless people around here are mentally ill and the government needs to do more to help them,” Vanessa Buchko said.
USPS released a statement saying in part:
“Though rare, homeless people have camped out in a Post Office lobby before. We are empathetic to these individuals and when we become aware of such issues, we will contact local authorities who often have resources to assist them.”
USPS
Because the building will be closed overnight, people who have P.O. boxes won’t be able to access them during those hours.
USPS recommends setting up a P.O. Box at another location that is accessible 24-7.
