By Cindy Schroeder
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Lawyer Robert Newman (center) hands out checks for $1,000 each to two of five homeless men whose belongings were trashed last year by Covington city workers who raided their Ohio Riverbank campsites. (Ernest Coleman/The Cincinnati Enquirer)

COVINGTON - Three men who once called the Ohio River bank home say they plan to use their settlement from a federal lawsuit against the city of Covington to pay for everything from heart medicine to shelter.

"What are my plans?'' 60-year-old Delbert Thompson repeated. "I'm going to try to get all of my medical needs taken care of.. I just had a heart attack two months ago. Then I'm going to take a bus and go see my sister in California.''

Philip Folk, 53, who camped on west Covington's Ohio riverfront for nearly 12 years, now lives in the Queen City Nursing Home in Cincinnati. He said he plans to use his money to rent an apartment and replace the clothing, bedding and cooking utensils he lost in the riverfront sweep by city of Covington workers.

The men were among eight who sued in U.S. District Court in Covington after city workers razed their riverfront camps in April 2002. Homeless advocates said most of the 30 men living on the riverbank were away at work when the Covington city workers removed their belongings from city property without notice.

Each of the men collected $1,000 checks Friday against the backdrop of the west Covington riverfront where they once camped year-round. They'll receive another $1,000 apiece later from attorneys' fee, their lawyers said.

Among the items lost: a litter of kittens, family photos, a cooking stove, and the complete works of William Shakespeare.

"There's now a nationwide precedent that cities cannot take the property of homeless people without notice and destroy it,'' said Cincinnati attorney Bob Newman.

He and Covington lawyer Linda A. Smith settled the campers' lawsuit against the city of Covington last month.

"(Cities) have got to give the people notice before the taking and disposal of property, and that's what they didn't do here,'' Newman sai "It's a fair warning, I think, to Covington and any other city that homeless people are human beings just like everybody else and they have the same constitutional rights as a homeowner, so we're very happy about that.''

In settling the lawsuit, lawyers representing the city said there was no admission of wrongdoing. They said it was cheaper to settle than take the case to trial.

City officials, including Covington Mayor Butch Callery, described the makeshift riverfront camps as a health hazard and an eyesore.

"Some of (the campers') stuff is still out at public works,'' Callery said Friday. "Nobody claimed it.''

Callery said Transitions Inc., an agency dedicated to helping Northern Kentuckians break the cycle of substance abuse, violence and poverty, recently opened an 11-unit apartment building for people who once were homeless.

He said the city also donated 500 blankets last year to an emergency shelter and other agencies helping homeless people.

But homeless advocates said that isn't enough.

"This morning, 725,000 individuals across this country woke up outside,'' said Bellevue resident Mark Teegarden, a civil rights advocate who was once homeless himself.

"In our area, we have a critical, critical need for shelter.''

Northern Kentucky homeless advocates say shelter is especially needed for men.

Fairhaven Rescue Mission in Covington has 25 beds, but 11 of those are for men enrolled in the agency's substance abuse program. An emergency cold shelter on Covington's Eastside can hold 33, and has averaged about 30 the past week, its operator said.

"But that's just a church floor,'' said Rachael Winters, coordinator at the Welcome House social service agency. "It's only open at night, and they don't have showers. It isn't a viable option for a homeless person who needs a place to stay while they work or look for work.''

E-mail cschroeder@enquirer.com