A new homeless encampment has popped up in St. Paul’s West End after the closure of one in Pig's Eye Park.
Roughly three dozen displaced residents have set up a new camp near Randolph Avenue and Shepherd Road, with Ramsey County teams on site to provide resources.
Both advocates and people living there expressed deep skepticism for the city's approach of clearing encampments.
"I don't know why people are really not taking those services," says community outreach volunteer Nick Sterry. "It could be the trust with the city. It could be the trust with the government. Like, I really don't know."
Unhoused resident Agifft says it's a difficult situation for them.
"The balance, it's such a delicate balance to survive when you're outside and unhoused," he explains. "It's definitely not as easy as I thought."
Even though advocates and county outreach teams are on-site with supplies and resources, most encampment residents are turning down shelter stays and instead have chosen to move elsewhere.
Sterry says often times a bed isn't enough to solve the problem.
"It's more of like they're just checking them in and not communicating with them," he explains. "And so, when there becomes problems inside these facilities, you see a lot of like just removing them. Kicking them out, giving them a 24 hour band-aid."
Right now, it’s still uncertain how long this new location will remain active. The city has planned to close a number of encampments, which began this week with Pig's Eye Park. The city said the plan is to close them down prior to winter as a public safety issue.
