MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey explains his call for city staff to “expedite” the clearing of camps while preventing new camps from forming.
In an interview Friday, Frey said the city plans to add more people to outreach and staff to help with camps, the current strategy is to prioritize closing homeless shelters while simultaneously deploying a homeless outreach team to connect people in shelters with services, shelters, and addiction treatment.
In an interview with WCCO thursdayAccording to the city’s director of regulatory services, certain criteria must be met to close a camp, including health and safety risks to the community.
“The recognition is that we need to close these down as quickly as possible. Because we’ve seen the impact,” Frey said. “We need to move faster. So the plan is to move faster so that we can remove these camps. We can shelter people who are willing to, and we can be compassionate, yes, to the people in these camps, and yes, to the surrounding neighborhood.”
Frey criticized council members and advocates who argued for the camps to remain open.
“The numbers show that the problems in these neighborhoods show that this is the wrong approach and it’s irresponsible,” he said. “I listen to experts. I talk to the people who are doing the work on the ground. And there is broad consensus … that we need to accelerate these closures because they are not safe.”
Supporters of the camps disagree. They strongly disagree with the comments of senior city officials that people who support the camp residents through donations are actually harming them, not helping them.
“I don’t even know how that can be true,” said Adreinne Dorn, president of the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches. “I understand that’s a position that many residents and people in positions of power have, certainly. But I don’t think that’s true. I think people need help and we’re here to help them.”
On Friday, the council, in partnership with Sanctuary Supply Depot, gave away 50 “kits,” which include tents and sleeping bags. While this event happens weekly, Dorn says multiple encampment clearings this week have increased demand.
“I know we’re meeting needs, but it feels a little bit like a hamster wheel. It’s a cycle, it keeps happening,” she said. “When we kick people out of the homes that they’ve created, they actually feel less human and throw their stuff away. I don’t think that helps.”
“We listen to our constituents,” Frey said. “We listen to the experiences that they’ve had day in and day out, and we also recognize that the compassionate approach for people in these camps is not to let them slowly commit suicide with a needle in their arm.”
“Citizens are in camps for their safety, because that’s a community,” said Naomi Wilson of the Sanctuary Supply Depot. “That’s the only way they know safety. If they’re not in camps, they’re more likely to be picked up by traffickers, more likely to be targeted by serial killers. That’s not an exaggeration.”
Adam Duxter
