The number of homeless men and women that occasionally move through or stay in Prairie Park has probably fallen since the death of Toni Keller, said DeKalb Police Lt. Carl Leoni.

Leoni said the Park District has been more “on top of” reporting homeless people and camps in the park since Keller’s death. However, several residents still report seeing homeless in the park.

“There are a lot of transients who pass through the park,” said DeKalb resident Jordan Uldahl.

Uldahl said he and his friends, including DeKalb resident Tim Eisman, go frisbee golfing once or twice a week in Prairie Park, south of Route 38, and have seen people who are “clearly homeless.” Eisman and Uldahl said they have not seen people camped in Prairie Park, though Eisman said he sees homeless people camped in other areas of DeKalb. Uldahl and Eisman said most of the homeless stay near train tracks and are non-threatening.

“I feel safe,” Uldahl said. “Most of them are just trying to get by.”

Freshman undecided major Molly Farnsworth said she visits Prairie Park “pretty often” and has never seen someone she suspects to be homeless. She said the park is “really open” so it seems safe.

However, Leoni said the homeless are not allowed to stay in the park during the night. Prairie Park closes at dusk, which means that staying overnight is illegal. Because of this, the police must clear homeless people and their camping materials from the park. Leoni said when officers go to remove the tents used by the homeless in Prairie Park, they often do not find the actual owners of the tents. The materials are held by the DeKalb police until someone comes to claim them. Leoni said the police department does not usually punish the homeless for staying in the park.

“We tell them they can’t live there and we give them information on homeless societies,” Leoni said.

Leoni said he did not have any recollection of a homeless person residing in Prairie Park being accused of or convicted of a crime. Cindy Capek, DeKalb Park District executive director, said there had never been any incidents with homeless people at Prairie Park. Leoni said complaints about homeless people in the park usually comes from the park district, which is “good about reporting that.”

The homeless have the option to stay in one of several shelters in DeKalb. However, shelter availability is dependent on how full they are, since each shelter has a set amount of people it can house.

“[Hope Haven has] been full approximately three years,” said Lesly Wicks, Hope Haven executive director.

A new addition which will add 30 beds to Hope Haven will open Dec. 1.