St. Paul homeless encampment cleared by city officials Thursday
St. Paul, Mpls approaches to clearing encampments
St. Paul and Minneapolis have different approaches to clearing homeless encampments in the cities. FOX 9's Leon Purvis has more.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A homeless encampment just east of downtown St. Paul along East 7th Street near Payne Avenue is one of the largest city officials have seen, and has led to numerous complaints. Thursday, it was cleared.
City officials clearing encampment
By the numbers:
St. Paul city officials say police have been called to the encampment more than 400 times for everything from drug use to assaults, while the fire department has responded to 50 calls for EMS and fires.
A health and safety assessment conducted back in October found hypodermic needles on the ground, burn pits dangerously close to tents, as well as other public health and safety concerns.
Photos taken by a FOX 9 crew at the encampment show the conditions people have been living in.
What they're saying:
The St. Paul fire marshal says that makeshift heaters used to warm highly flammable tents are a dangerous combination.
"Our goal is to make sure that folks are safe," said Deputy Fire Chief Jamie Smith. "And quite honestly, when you couple the health and fire safety hazards that were within the encampment, dangerously low temperatures, it's not safe for folks to be staying outside at this time."
Deputy Fire Chief also added "Our goal isn't to criminalize those experiencing homelessness. Our goal is to provide a safe place, especially during our harsh Minnesota winters, for folks to get resources, to meet them wherever they are, to break the cycle of homelessness."
A man who volunteers to help the unhoused population in St. Paul, Chuck Sweeney, was at the site on Thursday morning.
Sweeney said he understands all too well some of the complicated reasons why people find themselves in situations where they experience homelessness.
"It's a little different than just wanting the help," Sweeney said. "There's a lot of trauma that's going on with these individuals."
Sweeney also added, "Once they shut an encampment down, word spreads much [about] where to go.... On the street they're very smart, they know where to go and how to go about doing it."
St. Paul officials clearing homeless encampment
St. Paul city officials and volunteers are working to clear the site of a homeless encampment by Thursday afternoon. FOX 9's Bill Keller has the full story.
Local perspective:
"Our first goal is to care for people," said Melvin Carter, Mayor of Saint Paul.
Crews helped the unhoused and cleaned out some things. The people who lived there received more than advanced notice. They also help connect the unhoused with resources.
"We show up and show up and show up over the course of weeks and months and make sure that we're able to build the trust so that people understand that we have their best interest in mind," said Carter.
This process happened over the course of weeks and months due in part to several issues at this encampment east of downtown Saint Paul between Highway 52 and 94.
Nancy Ford is an advocate and helps the unhoused in Minneapolis. She approves of the way Saint Paul handled things with encampments, versus what Minneapolis has done in the past.
"I think that's very respectful. And when you have a camp that is deeply established like that, I think it's important to connect with the individuals in that camp and help relocate them," said Ford.
Officials say this is about clearing encampments for public health and safety concerns. It has nothing to do with criminalizing homelessness.
What's next:
The St. Paul Homeless Assistance Response Team has been on site every day this week in an effort to connect those living outside with resources, including a warm and safe place to stay.