Minneapolis evicts Camp Nenookaasi's migrating residents for 3rd time in 4 weeks
MINNEAPOLIS —For the second time this week, the city of Minneapolis cleared a homeless encampment in a residential neighborhood that officials said posed public health and safety risks.
The group, known as Camp Nenookaasi, relocated to South 16th Avenue near East 22nd Street after people living on another site nearby were forced to vacate on Tuesday. There, city leaders said, people became ill with a stomach virus and a man was shot.
Todd Barnette, the commissioner of the Minneapolis Office of Community Safety, told reporters in a news conference Thursday that police had tracked just one 911 call to the area of the new encampment in the previous 30 days, but in the last 48 hours there were seven emergency calls.
A primary concern of city leaders was its location between two homes on a residential street.
"We're closing the encampment because of the public health and safety risk. It's not a choice. The risk is that high," Barnette said, noting that he and Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara were both concerned about potential violence.
Earlier in January, officials forced a larger encampment site to close, so Thursday's shutdown marked the third camp closure in just weeks.
Tatiana Franklin, who lives in the neighborhood, said her dog picked up a needle while walking on the sidewalk. A mother of four, she said she was concerned about safety.
"I have young little boys they like to be outside and play and they can't play with things like that going on," Franklin said.
Jason Chavez, a member of the Minneapolis City Council, is a critic of how the city has handled evicting people from the sites. He wants to find city land to create a healing center as a solution, calling the current approach "unjustified and inhumane."
"To evict an encampment without a plan is only going to make that situation worse. It means that now people do not have a place to sleep at night. It means that people are losing access to providers that can help them with their addiction. It means that people now have to be dispersed across our city," said Chavez, who represents Ward 9.
Tensions reached a boiling point Wednesday at a committee meeting discussing the encampment. Council member LaTrisha Vetaw accused Chavez of using people living there as "political pawns" and alleged city staff tasked with shutting down the encampments were being mistreated.
"These neighbors need to be heard by their council member who won't respond to them," Vetaw said.
Then after the meeting ended, Vetaw had a heated exchange with Nicole Mason, an advocate for unhoused people at Camp Nenookaasi, who was in the audience.
"Listen to our Native people because our people deserve to heal. Our people deserve treatment," Mason said.
Several people showed up in support of the people living in Camp Nenookaasi. At the second encampment site vacated earlier this week, city public works put down boulders and other concrete pieces on the land to keep people from returning.
When asked if the city would do the same at the location cleared on Thursday, Barnette said he didn't know of the final plans. He said the city will keep trying to connect unhoused people to services.
"I'm sure if we have that material available, we will do that. We know that fencing alone does not prevent people from on the property. We have that example from the last two encampments," he told reporters.