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Artist Joel Coplin has a complicated relationship with homeless people. He sued Phoenix to clear an encampment. But he also befriended them and found inspiration for his art.
For years, his business, which he also lives in, was caught up in the chaos leading Coplin to become one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the city of Phoenix.
Art and business are back in the area called The Zone in downtown Phoenix. The encampment was filled with hundreds, and at a point more than a thousand, of homeless people for several years.
The city was under a court order to dismantle “the Zone,” a sprawling downtown homeless encampment, by Saturday.
This week, the city of Phoenix successfully finished their clean up of “The Zone," a homeless encampment near downtown. The sweep comes after a judge imposed a Nov. 4 deadline to remove tents, trash, and makeshift structures, while finding housing for people to move to.