The St. Paul City Council is proposing a “coordinated response” to unsheltered homelessness, which would create a temporary shelter and pause encampment sweeps.
The council proposal comes on the heels of Mayor Kaohly Her’s announcement that the city would close St. Paul’s three biggest encampments, which led to confrontations in August as city crews cleared out an area that was home to more than 140 people at Pig’s Eye Park.
Following the Pig’s Eye closure, residents moved to an encampment located in a sprawling area in the woods near Shepard Road and Randolph Avenue. Mutual aid volunteers estimate the camp now has over 200 residents.
“I don’t think that we solved anything with the closure,” St. Paul Council Member Molly Coleman said. “It just made clear that the council needs to act, and this is us doing that.”
The resolution requests a three-part response that includes:
- A 60-day period with a “navigation tent” at encampment sites led by service providers before any encampment closures. Closures could still take place if the city identifies “an immediate threat to life or safety.”
- A temporary low-barrier shelter located in an indoor space like a gym to operate for six months during the winter.
- A permanent low-barrier shelter with a tiny-home model similar to Avivo Village in Minneapolis.
The council is set to vote on the resolution Wednesday, Oct. 21. It is sponsored by six of the seven council members: Anika Bowie, Molly Coleman, Cheniqua Johnson, Saura Jost, HwaJeong Kim and Rebecca Noecker.
“Unsheltered homelessness is the downstream impact of failed policies, and the City of Saint Paul seeks to provide a new path and more suitable resources for our residents,” the resolution reads.
Ahead of the Pig’s Eye closure, the city allocated more than $1 million to fund an additional 49 emergency shelter beds at Catholic Charities Higher Ground shelter in St. Paul. The city was only able to identify seven people who accepted shelter after the closure that came from Pig’s Eye. The resolution hopes to reduce barriers that prevent people from accessing shelter.
“People experiencing unsheltered homelessness are members of our community entitled to dignity, safety, and meaningful access to shelter, housing, and supportive services,” the resolution reads. “Barriers to shelter may include identification requirements, accessibility needs, separation from partners or pets, restrictions on belongings, operating hours, and unmet health or behavioral health needs.”
Justin Lewandowski, executive director of Open Hands Midway, a nonprofit that distributes food and supplies to encampment residents, said he sees the resolution as a “new beginning” and is glad to see the council propose solutions.
“The resolution is not perfect, but it’s the first clear example that I’ve seen of people trying to lay out a clear and articulated vision of how we can address the solution,” he said.
But he said a 60-day pause on closing encampments isn’t long enough, and he is concerned about language in the resolution that allows the city to close an encampment if it identifies “an immediate threat to life or safety.”
“I think the biggest concern that I have personally is that the Mayor’s Office is going to use literally any incident at any time to justify closing the camps, and then we’re back at square one,” he said.
There is currently no monetary figure in the resolution, but estimates from City Council staff suggest the plan could cost more than $10 million. It calls on the city, county, state and philanthropic groups to help fund the plan.
As the council’s plan is a resolution and not an action like an ordinance, it will ultimately be up to the Mayor’s Office if the plan will be followed through.
In a statement, the mayor said she supports moving people from encampments into housing, and is analyzing the “viability and affordability of these proposals.”
“Every spending choice we make comes at the expense of other priorities and essential services our residents depend on,” she said.
Her said her office is still planning to close the Randolph encampment and another camp near L’Orient Street on the East Side.
“I remain committed to bringing all levels of government and partners to the table to address this systemic problem,” she said.
Coleman said she’s “cautiously optimistic” that Her’s office will act on the plan.
“This is an attempt at bringing together people who have very different perspectives on what the right path forward is, and to get to the best option that can have broad support,” she said.
The meeting begins at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday. It can be live-streamed here.
