Minneapolis protesters set up daylong homeless encampment near Mayor Jacob Frey's home

Angry at what they called the "militarized" response to homelessness by the city of Minneapolis, protesters set up a sidewalk encampment Sunday outside the home of Mayor Jacob Frey on East Hennepin Avenue.

"I think we can all agree that we don't want to see camps on our streets, in our parks," said Young Eagle, a protester who identified as a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation. "But we're seeing a militarized response.

"Is that what we're going to see here? Is that how we're going to show our Midwestern values, Minnesota values of caring for our neighbors?"

In recent months, the city has broken up several homeless camps, most recently in the Harrison neighborhood on the city's North Side.

An attempt to clear the camp in March 2021 resulted in a violent clash with five protesters arrested and five police officers suffering minor injuries.

A spokesperson for Frey said the mayor is "working towards the goal of finding all people safe, stable and permanent housing," citing a number of policy achievements including a $200 million investment with Hennepin County for homelessness response.

At least three new shelters have opened in the past two years, and the city has increased funding for street outreach teams and a new City Homeless Response Coordinator team.

"The city and county, together with state, nonprofit and philanthropic partners, have fundamentally reshaped the homelessness response system since the start of the pandemic in March 2020," spokesperson Katie Lauer said.

It's not enough, said advocates who set up three tents and an information booth on the sidewalk and street parking spots outside Frey's building.

"It's just absolute outrage at the city coming through and destroying the camps, destroying everything the unhoused possess," said Emilie Valenti, who was handing out information along with socks, hats and food items. Many camp residents have lost essential items such as birth certificates, medication and forms of identification as they've been rousted, she said, often with little or no warning.

"They're treated like absolute trash, and everything they own is in the trash," Valenti said. The issue is made worse, several protesters said, because of a shortage of beds in homeless shelters in the county.

Lauer said Frey's home has become a focal point for protests and threats in recent months, and has been vandalized repeatedly. The mayor, who has a 2-year-old child, was home Sunday while protesters gathered outside.

With the city's recent change to a strong-mayor form of government, Frey should be doing more, Young Eagle said.

"You can't say you're a good guy when you're doing aggressively militarized sweeps," Young Eagle said. "I think in 2020 we all saw what the people can do. The people can take matters into their own hands. We hope that isn't necessary."