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St. Paul preparing to clear homeless encampments
The City of St. Paul is preparing to clear homeless encampments, leaving outreach programs scrambling. FOX 9's Emily Pofahl has the story.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Outreach programs and homeless shelters are preparing as the City of St. Paul is set to begin clearing out encampments.
St. Paul closing encampments
What we know:
City officials say that the first in a series of encampment closures will take place at Pig’s Eye Park on Aug. 5, with additional sites closing "on a rolling basis." The city made the announcement last month, and says the clearings are necessary for public safety.
St. Paul Police and Fire Departments have reported more than 800 calls for service to camps since July of last year. The city estimates about 200 people currently live in the encampments that are set to be cleared.
Dig deeper:
Saturday, four days out from the clearing, Pig’s Eye Park looks much the same as it did one month ago when the announcement was first made. Community advocates say, anecdotally, a few people have already moved out and found housing, but it’s going to be a huge lift to get people connected with resources.
People living in Pig’s Eye Park tell FOX 9 that they’ve struggled to find somewhere else to go.
"All of these service providers are extremely stretched very very thin. I hear there’s a lot of scrambling happening," said Marie Purcell, a member of the Minnesota chapter of Veterans for Peace.
Purcell has been volunteering at the camp for months.
"I’ve heard a couple stories of folks who have acquired housing. But not very many. In terms of folks who are living at the camp here, it seems pretty comparable to when I first started coming," she said.
Big picture view:
Data from Ramsey County’s website shows more than 2,000 people are on a waitlist for permanent supportive housing. Temporary shelters are prepping for an influx of people in need.
St. Paul is investing $1 million to help Ramsey County open more overnight shelter beds and expand case management services, including 49 new emergency shelter beds at Catholic Charities and support for additional beds and services at facilities across the city.
"We run very close to full if not full every single night," said Keith Kozerski, chief program officer at Catholic Charities. "That need is there whether the camp closures are happening or not. There's just a lack of resources in this system overall."
With the addition of the 49 beds, Catholic Charities now has 281 beds total. The nonprofit is also preparing to serve around 1,200 meals per-day, with the additional beds occupied after the encampment sweeps.
Community advocates worry it still won’t be enough.
"We don’ t even really have a good grasp of what the numbers are. But I believe that they’re increasing," Purcell said.
City and county officials said Friday that they are working to reduce barriers to shelter, such as extending shelter check-in times to 10 P.M., offering temporary storage for belongings, and helping people replace identification documents.