Norwich — Despite a snowstorm in December that collapsed several tents in a homeless encampment off Salem Turnpike, 58-year-old Gerald Ward said he and others have no plans to enter a shelter or move out.

But concern from others is growing for the small group that has called the wooded area behind Maplewood Cemetery home for the past several months.

The encampment is on privately owned land and has been the source of several calls to police in the past, Ward admits. He said word has gotten around about a Friday deadline to move out. He said he’s unsure what to expect on Friday but was in New London last year when police there broke up a homeless encampment in the area of State Pier Road. He said he’s also heard the stories about police recently dismantling a camp in Waterford.

“I’m not going to no shelter,” Ward said. “We just want to be left alone. You can’t see us from the road. We’re not bothering anyone.”

Norwich police did not immediately respond to questions about an alleged Friday deadline. Ward said the most recent interactions with police was a month ago, when officers came to help clean up the campsite. Others have come out to perform welfare checks. As of this week, Ward said there are five people living at the camp.

Lee-Ann Gomes, Norwich’s director of Human Services, said a community care team composed of various social service, mental health and substance abuse providers has worked continuously to see that all folks are housed for the winter, with the ultimate goal of finding stable permanent housing.

“I hate to see someone outside. We just had a major snowstorm. That is terrifying to me and members of our team,” Gomes said.

But she said it is not the policy of her agency to wreck a campsite and take people’s belongings. She said her department also would not ask police to do that. She does not, however, want people outside during the cold winter months and her agency has the resources to ensure there is food and a place to stay.

“We want people to be safe. We want people to be housed. It would be a shame if someone thought that living outside was their only option,” Gomes said.

Ward said he can attest to efforts by homeless advocates, having been put up for several days in a hotel around the time of the snowstorm. But he said he wants to maintain the camp.

g.smith@theday.com