Find safe alternatives for the homeless

Opinion editor's note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.

•••

Advocates and homeless people set up tents in front of Minneapolis City Hall early this week to protest the clearing of another homeless camp. They complained that they were evicted without notice, given just minutes to leave, and that dismantling their camp caused emotional and psychological problems. And they requested a moratorium on taking down encampments.

The small City Hall camp was cleared within a few days, as it should have been. And there has rightly been no city commitment to end clearing encampments. Tent communities are not the right solution for those experiencing homelessness. The temporary camps often create even more problems for their residents. In addition to the weather problems of living outdoors in Minnesota, the camps can be unsanitary and unsafe, leaving inhabitants vulnerable to various types of crime.

Still, the highly visible downtown protest brought additional attention to the continuing challenge of homelessness in the region. A combination of factors, including COVID, unemployment, mental health, addiction and shortages of deeply affordable housing, contribute to the problem.

There are no easy solutions. It's not as easy as simply placing a person or family in a shelter or subsidized apartment and leaving them there. But Hennepin County and the city are making significant strides in addressing homelessness.

This week, a City Council committee approved a package that includes $1.2 million for Avivo Village, a joint-powers agreement with Hennepin County, and additional funding for emergency solutions. The full council will take a final vote on the plan next Thursday.

Hewitt and city officials said it is important to note that at least 11 people protesting outside City Hall this week were housed immediately at Avivo Village. The county keeps a running tally of available shelter spaces online — often 50 to 70 spaces each day — so those in need can reserve spots. He added that shelters are never the ultimate solution and that many of the county's efforts are designed to get the needy into supportive and sustainable housing.

Minneapolis and Hennepin County — together with state, nonprofit and philanthropic partners — have fundamentally reshaped the homelessness response system since the March 2020 start of the pandemic.

Together, the city and county have invested more than $200 million into efforts to improve shelter conditions and keep them open 24/7, and support new cultural and gender-specific shelters. And since 2019, the city has seen record-high annual affordable housing production and preservation levels — with several hundred more units in the pipeline in the next few years.