St. Paul homeless encampment by apartment grows after Pig’s Eye closure
New St. Paul encampment grows despite concerns
After closing St. Paul's largest homeless encampment, city leaders say they may now be facing an even more dangerous situation as a new one has tripled in size. FOX 9’s Emily Pofahl has the latest.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A new encampment near Shepard Road and Randolph Avenue has more than tripled in size following the closure of the Pig's Eye Park encampment earlier this month.
Mutual aid groups call the situation in the new camp "untenable," and its impacting tenants of a nearby apartment complex, too.
From Pig's Eye to Randolph
What we know:
St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her’s administration closed the Pig's Eye Park encampment August 5, citing increased calls for police and fire.
"It was a safety and health concern," Assistant Mayor Cedrick Baker said of the Pig’s Eye Encampment.
But Baker estimates 90 to 100 people from Pig's Eye just moved to another preexisting encampment in the Randolph and Shepard Road area. Despite a $1 million investment to expand shelter capacity, the city says only seven former Pig's Eye residents used the provided shelter services — and those seven don't necessarily stay at that shelter every night. Four others were getting services through Union Gospel Mission.
"We would have wanted more individuals to be in shelter space," Baker said. "So we do not believe that that was a success."
Baker also told council members the new encampment sits on a former auto salvage yard where the soil is contaminated with lead and carcinogenic substances. The area is also prone to flooding and difficult for emergency personnel to reach.
The backstory:
Mutual aid groups say the move from Pig's Eye to Randolph has created new challenges on the ground.
Kat Hunter, with Rising Waters Mutual Aid, says the new location is far harder for their team to reach.
"It’s much harder for us to get resources to. It's up a lot of hills," Hunter said.
Hunter said they lost track of seven people who regularly accepted food, clothes and medical supplies during the move.
"We agree with the city. This is not a good situation. It's not a good situation for the people who live in the apartments nearby. It's not a situation for people in the encampment," said Hunter.
Nearby residents and safety concerns
What they're saying:
At the Waterford Bay Apartments nearby, new no-trespassing signs have gone up and St. Paul police cameras have been installed.
One tenant, who asked to remain anonymous, said the situation has changed how she moves through her own neighborhood.
"It's gotten to the point where I don't really feel safe going outside by myself anymore," the tenant said.
She said neighbors have had to call 911 for fires and fights at the camp.
"I'm walking down the river, and they're starting to come at me yelling. And I've turned around and walked with someone else just to get out of that situation," the tenant said.
What we don't know:
The city has plans to clear the Randolph encampment, but Baker has not outlined a timeline for that closure or for a third encampment on St. Paul's East Side. FOX 9's Emily Pofahl reached out to the city for a timeline and was told there are no updates.
Council Member Molly Coleman pressed Baker on how the city plans to handle future clearings differently.
"In many ways, we're in a worse situation than we were six weeks ago or two months ago," said Coleman. "And that happened for a variety of reasons, many of which the city didn't intend. But I think some of what has transpired was foreseeable or was at least kind of a concern that there would be people who are encouraging movement that the city doesn't want to see, that we would have people moving to an encampment that is more dangerous, that is less safe."
Baker acknowledged some urgency given the conditions at the site and the approaching winter but did not get into specifics about future closures. Hunter, meanwhile, they want more for the people living in these camps.
"I want people to have tap water. I want a refrigerator that they can put food in. I want that for every single person out there. I can't give it to them. I don't have the resources, and I don't know that the city does, but they have much more of a shot than I do," said Hunter.
The Source: This story is based on information and comments provided during a St. Paul Public Safety Committee briefing, as well as reporting by FOX 9's Emily Pofahl.