Minneapolis officials clear encampment that grew after Nenookaasi closing

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The City of Minneapolis took down another large homeless encampment on Tuesday, this time in the Phillips neighborhood, an encampment that grew after the shutdown of another encampment about two blocks away.

Minneapolis crews were working during the day at 14th Avenue and 26th Street South. The action is part of the city's ongoing efforts to prevent the formation of large encampments.

Early Tuesday morning, city officials informed residents that they had to leave the area. The original Nenookaasi camp was dismantled about a month ago, only for this new encampment to appear shortly after. The city cited significant public health and safety concerns, including drug use and overdoses, assaults, the death of a newborn in October, and a deadly shooting at the previous encampment – along with a stomach virus outbreak last week, and a shooting that occurred Monday at the new location.

"Based on our preliminary information, the individual that shot him emerged from the encampment when that interaction occurred," explained Minneapolis Public Safety Commissioner Toddrick Barnette.

During the conference, an advocate for encampment residents raised a critical question, "Where do you want them to go?"

The new encampment is cleared on Tuesday in Minneapolis. (FOX 9)

The city says there are at least 80 shelter beds available, though they estimated only 25 people were living in the encampment, a disputed figure.

"There were 110 people at this encampment. Where do they go?" asked encampment volunteer Aaron Johnson. "Many of them might end up at another encampment, and many are just kind of going to be in limbo in the meantime."

But, it isn't always as easy as just going to a shelter. Drug addiction often prevents people from entering shelters. The group Avivo tells FOX 9 that they have ten low-barrier beds available for those with addictions who were evicted Tuesday. In the last eviction, Avivo helped 12 individuals find permanent housing, the ultimate goal for all unhoused individuals.

"Large encampments are not dignified housing, and we have a responsibility to make sure people have been offered the services available through the city, county, and state," said city operations officer Margaret Anderson Kelliher.

Between the two camps, the city says they've helped 130 people find housing or shelter. They also say they are working with Red Lake Nation, which wants to build a permanent structure for opioid treatment and other services. The city is planning to transfer land to them for that purpose.