St. Paul to begin closing three homeless encampments, starting with Pig’s Eye Park
St. Paul plans to close three homeless encampments, beginning with Pig’s Eye Park, the first and largest site identified under the city’s plan.
Mayor Kaohly Her announced the plan July 28. The Pig’s Eye Park closure is reported for Aug. 5, part of an August effort to close the three sites.
The action marks a change from St. Paul’s prior tolerance of established encampments. It will directly affect people living at the sites and will involve city and county staff in the closure process.
Pig’s Eye Park is the first site named
Pig’s Eye Park is the first encampment identified for closure and the largest site included in the plan. The plan covers two additional St. Paul encampments, but the available reporting does not identify their final closure dates.
The available reports also do not provide a complete count of residents at each site. As a result, they do not establish how many people will need immediate assistance as the closures proceed.
The Aug. 5 date applies to the reported first closure at Pig’s Eye Park. It should not be read as a confirmed deadline for the other two sites, whose schedules have not been established in the available information.
City and county workers expected on-site
St. Paul and Ramsey County workers are expected to be present at the encampment sites and to remain on-site daily until closure. Their role includes helping residents with accommodations, according to the reporting.
The plan describes assistance intended to help residents find shelter or other accommodations before the sites are cleared. The available information does not document permanent housing placements for individual residents.
Nor does it establish that every resident will accept shelter or another accommodation. Those outcomes will depend on what is available and on individual decisions, neither of which is detailed in the reports.
What the plan changes
The closure plan represents a policy shift in how St. Paul handles established encampments in public spaces. It also requires coordination between the city and Ramsey County as workers assist residents and the sites move toward closure.
For residents of the encampments, the immediate next known step is the reported Aug. 5 Pig’s Eye Park closure. For the remaining two encampments, the city’s plan is confirmed, but final dates have not been provided in the available reporting.
The reports do not provide outcome data showing where each affected resident will ultimately stay or whether the closures will reduce homelessness. Those questions remain unresolved as the city begins carrying out the plan.
Sources
- St. Paul backs away from tolerance of homeless encampments, Axios
- St. Paul to close homeless encampments in August, Minnesota Star Tribune