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The killing of three people last month near 4000 Snelling Ave. has heightened concerns about encampments in Minneapolis, and some city policymakers are pushing for change. A new proposal coming before the city council could result in authorized outdoor sheltering options in the city.
The Snelling encampment is no longer there, but the problem of illegal group camping and disagreements among city policy makers about how best to address it continue.
Ward 12 Council Member Aurin Chowdhury hosted a meeting to discuss the issue on Nov. 13, 2024 at Hiawatha Flats that included Mayor Jacob Frey, Council President Elliot Payne, Police Chief Brian O’Hara, and police lieutenants John Haugland and Molly Fischer.
“The overall message that came across was that the needs of unhoused individuals living in encampments and the needs of housed neighbors living near an encampment are not being met by the current status quo in the city,” reported Chowdhury after the meeting.
Group camping has become more common since the well-known Wall of Forgotten Natives encampment on Franklin Ave. in 2018. They were also allowed during the COVID-19 public health emergency and the city’s park board issued permits for some camps on park property.
On Nov. 18, the city’s online homelessness dashboard identified 386 people sleeping outdoors at 35 encampments, the largest of which had 50 people.
In a study session in 2021, the city council reviewed four types of responses: clearance with little or no support, clearance with support, tacit acceptance, and formal sanctioning.
NEIGHBORS HELP CLEAR CAMP PEACEFULLY
“The experience was a nightmare,” said Greg Clave about the encampment, that was cleared with support across from his house on 30th Ave near the Midtown Greenway in 2021. He recalled that “donated food left unattended and uneaten attracted rats; clothing and garbage was left everywhere.” There was “24/7 foot and car traffic, people shooting up in our front yard and leaving needles; people on drugs doing crazy things like dancing crazily in the street, yelling and falling over; vandalism, stolen property, assaults,” as well as “damage to boulevard trees and flower beds.”
Clave worked with his neighbors and the city, who hired the American Indian Development Center. They were “able to set up a big carnival tent,” hire non-police American Indian Movement staff to provide security, and coordinate with county and city social service provider to help people find alternative housing. He was happy when “the camp was cleared peacefully, with people taking belongings and without any police interference.”
Since then, under Frey’s direction, the city has adopted a policy of clearance with little or no support, evicting campers and clearing encampments by force with police.
ANOTHER NAVIGATION CENTER?
Some council members are interested in different approaches and in September the council amended the city’s “temporary shelter” ordinance to require quarterly reports from city staff on the encampments, including the services offered and costs. It was authored by Southside council members Jason Chavez, Aisha Chughtai, and Aurin Chowdhury.
“This will help better inform changes that may need to happen at the city level,” said Ward 9 Council Member Chavez at the time.
In October, the council initiated a study that is expected to be completed in January. It will examine the city’s 2018 navigation center built in response to the encampment near Hiawatha and Franklin and identify potential locations for a new one.
In November, the council approved taking up three new ordinances authored by council members Chavez, Chowdhury, and Chughtai to allow “safe outdoor spaces or individualized outdoor sheltering options for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness,” and directed the city attorney to draft changes to the city’s housing, zoning and health codes, based on Denver’s Safe Outdoor Space program and Duluth’s Safe Bay initiative.
SAFE OUTDOOR SPACE IN DENVER
Denver’s “Safe Outdoor Spaces” are also known as managed campsites. They have been operating since the pandemic in 2021. They offer 24/7 supervision and provide access to sanitation and a safe, personal place to sleep off the streets, usually in a tent. Residents are identified by outreach workers in order to be offered a place. Safe Outdoor Spaces and safe parking sites have operated at eight locations across Denver, and have provided shelter to over 515 people, who would have otherwise been sleeping on streets. The city’s website states that “the stability of these spaces have helped people obtain and keep jobs, and over 180 people have already moved into more permanent housing.”
Denver’s program relies on nonprofit organizations to provide space and operate the sites. Their primary partner in administering the sites is Colorado Village Collaborative (CVC), a nonprofit organization.
SAFE BAY IN DULUTH
Safe Bay, in Duluth, opened in June as a space for people to stay overnight in their vehicles. It was open from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. from June through October and provided a secure place for people living in their car, truck, van or camper with access to showers and bathrooms, internet, and breakfast. People were given help to locate housing. It is expected to open again next year, and is operated collaboratively by two Duluth based nonprofits, CHUM and Damiano Center.
“Providing safe parking spaces to people living in vehicles can be an effective early intervention model,” said Chavez. “Ordinances allowing for safe outdoor spaces in other cities sometimes encompass safe parking.”
WHAT MAKES A SUCCESSFUL SAFE SPACE
Sheila Delaney, an ending homelessness consultant and resident of the Prospect Park neighborhood, has coordinated two presentation on safe spaces for the council, one in 2021 and another in February 2024.
She recently toured such spaces in several cities, including Madison and Atlanta. “They have been very successful in cities that have invested sufficient resources to assure their success,” said Delaney.
Delaney identified over 30 cities that permit regulated encampments, where groups may set up individualized outdoor shelters for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness.
The hallmarks for success, according to Delaney, include “planning for stormwater mitigation (you don’t want to live in a muddy mess), sufficient staffing, places for community gatherings and private meetings, privacy fencing for the residents, sufficient space between units, ‘clues to care’ such as community-created art, gardens, and support to keep these positive aspects going over the long term.”
She considers them to be part of a continuum of care that provide a needed entry point for people to take their next steps towards more permanent housing, healthcare, and/or employment.
“I also wholeheartedly support a harm reduction approach that screens people in rather than out,” said Delaney. “All of these interventions are significantly less expensive than other public safety and public health responses such as emergency response, emergency room use, and police-led encampment closures.” She called the forced evictions “extremely wasteful, profoundly ill-informed and useless” efforts that result in “traumatized residents,” the loss of critical documentation and another encampment nearby and jail.
“Avivo Village, which is in a sense an indoor Safe Space, has increased its capacity so much that its per person cost is approximately $22,000 per year, per person. When managed well, safe outdoor spaces can cost even less.” Delaney added. “An average encampment closures cost an approximately $80,000. The math speaks for itself.”
“I will continue to listen to the first-hand experiences of residents about their concerns and take action to create solutions to build the city we want to see,” said Chowdhury. She sees the Avivo indoor tiny home shelter as a solution to support.
“We also need another location on the south side of Minneapolis, where a higher number of people live in encampments,” said Chowdhury. “Safety for everyone is important, whether they are living in a house, apartment, or facing homelessness.”
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