Minneapolis residents ask city to step up as homeless encampment fires increase
MINNEAPOLIS — City crews spent the day cleaning up what's left behind from Monday's encampment fire in south Minneapolis.
For some neighbors, this is yet another incident on a years-long list. They say the city is falling short of helping people struggling with homelessness during the coldest months of the year.
"We've got big problems it's not getting better by itself," Christopher Daniel said.
Daniel's drone captured images of billowing smoke coming from the encampment near 14th Avenue South and 29th Street East in Minneapolis.
He has lived in the neighborhood since 2016 and feels what is being done to help unsheltered and sheltered residents in the Phillips neighborhood is not working.
"Building cheap safe housing for people that have no barriers like drug addiction and all this I think would go a long way, but the first step is working together," Daniel said.
That is the consensus of many who live here. Working together is the key to solving the issue of addiction, homelessness, and the impact it has on homeowners.
"It's everybody in their silos doing stuff — not coordinated — working almost against each other. And who loses? The people in the camp lose. We are lucky nobody died," Jana Metge said. "This is the fifth one. We're lucky no one died, we're lucky no more neighbors' houses burned down."
Homeowners say they have compassion for people without homes, saying no one should have to live like this.
"How can you abandon people who have heavy addictions, who have mental health issues, who are on their last dime? How do we even let people stay in camps in this weather," Metge said.
Most feel something else needs to be done besides allowing tents and yurts to go up on city property.
"Our ordinances say no camping in the city of Minneapolis and people are camping on city-owned property," Chris Lomheim said.
In a statement, the Nenookaasi Coalition said we need city leadership to take unhoused residents' safety seriously and act with urgency to provide housing and resources for those who are struggling.
The city of Minneapolis sent a statement that said, "The bottom line is encampments are not safe any time of the year. That's especially true now with increased propane tank use during the winter months. The city and county work in partnership to offer services and shelter to people that need it."
