BUFFALO, N.Y. -- It becomes an option when it seems like there are few options left.

"Last summer, I guess you could say I resided here under the bridge," said one man, who wished to remain anonymous.

He is one of many people who at some point in time have called one of two overpasses on Michigan Avenue in Buffalo home.

"The other bridges, they leaked a lot and this one didn't leak at all so it helped us stay dry and actually it helped us stay warm too," he said. 

A few days ago, they came home to a big surprise.

"Imagine if you came to your house after working all day and you came to your house and it's barred up," the man said.

The State Department of Transportation put up bars in the sheltered spaces near the top of the overpass the homeless have turned into makeshift beds.

"They're just cutting us all off and then there's nowhere for us to go or do," he said. "There's nothing for us to do to help ourselves."

The D.O.T. said it took action after receiving a number of complaints including from the city, police and the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. A city spokesperson said the group of people who sleep under these bridges are typically young males with drug addiction who have in many cases chosen the street life.

The Buffalo B-District Police Chief said over the last year, a new group of individuals, specifically battling drug addiction, had come together to form a sort of encampment under overpasses. Chief Brian Patterson said there had been a pattern of disturbing behavior and trash, including needles.

"Our intent was never to displace any one particular group. We had a large responsibility to ensure the safety of folks who passed through that area and really deal with the issue of this more rogue group," Patterson said.

"It is disturbing, but they need help. If you displace them, they're still not housed," Homeless Alliance of WNY Executive Director Dale Zuchlewski said.

According to the HAWNY, it should've been consulted before the bars were installed. The alliance said it takes months of outreach to try and help people find permanent housing and if they are forced away from the bridge, it may be hard to find them again.

"They ought to be working with us, not against us and that's our main point. There are some solutions there," Zuchlewski said.

People who live under the bridge said they don't believe the bars will work anyway. They said people will cut the bars or break them with rocks. Even as they are right now, they can still fit under them to sleep at night.

"It is possible to do," the man we spoke with said. "It's kind of uncomfortable because you want to wake up in the middle of the night and go to the bathroom and you've got to maze your way out of these bars and it's difficult but it's not going to stop anybody."

With shelters like the City Mission full, the people we spoke to said there aren't other places to go.

"If you're just a drug addict or homeless drug addict that wants to get help but can't because there's not help out there anymore..." he said.

For now, these bridges will remain their homes.