Minneapolis homeless encampments cleared

The city of Minneapolis cleared several homeless encampments in the city’s East Phillips neighborhood Thursday morning.

The closures began around 6:30 a.m., according to Regulatory Services Director Enrique Velázquez. The city’s Homeless Response Teams and a cross-departmental team responded to shut down two camps at 2839 14th Av. S, which is a city-owned lot, and another at 2844 Bloomington Av., Velázquez said.

There were less than 30 people total living at the two encampments, according to city spokesperson Jess Olstad.

Nicole Mason, an organizer for the encampments that are known collectively as Camp Nenookaasi, said authorities also cleared a third camp, and gave a larger estimate of 60 to 70 people total living at the camps.

Mason took issue with the closure, which she said came as a surprise to the camps’ advocates and those living in them. Mason said she wished the city gave advance notice in the days leading up to it so the camp residents could get ready to leave.

“We know to expect something randomly like this, and it isn’t right because homeless people are human beings as well,” Mason said.

City officials pushed back, saying the residents at the 14th Avenue encampment were told repeatedly over the past few months that they were trespassing and that a closure would come.

Velázquez said the camps were deemed a public safety risk “due to activity in and around the encampments that threatened the surrounding neighbors and people within the encampments.”

Around 9 a.m., police had 14th, 15th and Bloomington avenues blocked off with metal fences and police tape as the closures took place. Several streets had officers positioned to stop homeless people from going back in to collect their belongings. Reporters and photographers were also not allowed to get close to observe the sweeps along 14th and 15th avenues.

Velázquez said the displaced people are being offered options for shelter, transportation, resources, medical care and free storage for their belongings.

“Encampments do not provide safe or dignified housing,” he said in a statement. “As a city, we strive to provide resources to people who need them, in the most compassionate way we can.”

According to city data sent to reporters by Olstad, the city has had nearly 70 police calls for service at the 14th Avenue encampment since February, and 30 for the Bloomington Avenue location since May.

Several residents of one of the camps said they were upset because they left their tents earlier in the morning and then lost belongings when they weren’t allowed back in.

“I lost all my clothes, hygiene products, some pictures,” said December Oakgrove, a woman who was pulling a cart with some blankets and other personal items.

City Council Member Jason Chavez observed the closures Thursday morning. He hosted a meeting in the neighborhood the previous night including both housed and unhoused residents, to address concerns about drug use and community safety in the area. He emphasized in a statement that his event was not related to the camps’ closure.

“I want to be clear that these inhumane evictions with no plans, unclear guidelines on timing and a lack of proper notices are wrong, and they had nothing to do with my community meeting last night and nothing to do with St. Paul’s Lutheran Church,” he said.