After dozens of calls to police and fire over the past several months the City of St. Paul has shut down a homeless encampment under the Lafayette Bridge.
The Union Gospel Mission's Sarah Peterka tells WCCO's Jordana Green they've been out there every day offering shelter and meals, but unfortunately those offers often fall on deaf ears.
"They had bad experiences with a shelter in the past, or folks are just not ready to want to accept help, Peterka explains. "Sometimes you've got to hit that lowest point to be ready to accept some help."
Peterka says drug and alcohol addiction is typically the reason why people don't want to enter homeless shelters. She says while UGM does not allow substance use on its campus, they do work with other shelters that do.
"If they are ready to face some recovery and get some help in that addiction, for those addictions that they do have, they are more than welcome to come and be a part of our program," she says.
Many residents were already gone by the time city crews arrived to clear the camp according to the Pioneer Press. Peterka notes there were some strong emotions from residents of the encampment as it was closed down.