‘This is real:’ Outreach workers say fentanyl drives surging crime in St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood

Larry McPherson sees himself in the faces of unsheltered people wandering St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood.

McPherson survived homelessness for seven years in Chicago before he found God and a home in Minnesota more than 17 years ago. As a member of 21 Days of Peace, an organization of violence interrupters across St. Paul, McPherson has defused fights and built trust among vulnerable people for years. But as McPherson and others respond to a growing number of crime hotspots, he worries that conditions in the Midway neighborhood will worsen without help from neighbors and officials.

“This is real. People are hungry. This [has been an issue], but now it’s escalated because of this drug called fentanyl. That’s the driving force,” McPherson said.

“Come next spring, next summer, it’s going to be a nightmare out here if they don’t make drastic changes in these next four to five months.”

Neighbors and officials have reported surging crime around the Midway neighborhood for months, taking to social media and community forums to report discarded needles, burglaries, and other crimes seldom seen in recent years. Authorities believe much of the blame lies with Kimball Court apartments, a housing complex which aims to get people off the streets and into housing without requiring sobriety. Investigators believe the complex has become a hub for drug trafficking, troubling residents and nearby businesses who have lost customers.

Though many crime metrics fell across the neighborhood, according to St. Paul Police Department data, robberies and drug violations surged.

St. Paul penned a contract with 21 Day of Peace last month, paying six people a total of about $10,000 to engage residents in the Midway neighborhood, Rondo, and the city’s East side. The contract expires at the end of the year. Members of the organization have patrolled Midway and the area around Kimball Court since then, connecting homeless people to city resources. Those members greeted people walking by the apartment complex Tuesday.

Members of the organization asked some people if they wanted help finding resources. They told a few to move and respect neighbors’ property. Most were asked how they were doing and whether they wanted help with anything, a role McPherson believes is bridging the gap between residents and police.

But McPherson said many people leave when 21 Days of Peace arrives. Dozens often return when he and others leave, but he believes many of those people are vulnerable and being targeted by dealers. Some, he said, are just teenagers.

“They’re getting preyed on. You’ve got people out here, young folks, that have never done drugs before in their lives. But the streets will suck you up like a vacuum cleaner, and if you ain’t using, it’s just a matter of time before somebody introduces you to it.”

“We’ve got to give them some help and put them in those places where they can see change, so they can get a different perspective,” 21 Days of Peace member Charles Yates said, adding that more resources for mental health, housing and job security would help.

“When they put a stop on allowing the drugs to get here, to get to the block, then we’ll start seeing some difference.”

That’s easier said than done, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

As special agent in charge, the DEA’s Steven Bell helps to manage 11 offices across Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. Bell said agents seized less fentanyl this year than last, netting 53 pounds of the powder compared to 160 last year.

But the drug’s potency has surged in recent years. Bell said that’s made two milligrams of fentanyl, the equivalent of a few grains of salt, more fatal, addictive, and easier to mix with other drugs.

“You have such a small amount of drug that the body becomes dependent on to feel normal or to feel good. And as someone becomes addicted, they need more and more to get to that normal feeling,” Bell said, adding that the people selling those drugs are skewing younger. Bell said that could be because criminals take advantage of the justice system’s leniency toward youth.

“What I have learned through my experience is that drug trafficking organizations will do anything to push their product to get people hooked. Whether it’s kids, whether it’s teenagers, adults, they don’t really care. All they care about in the endgame is the money that comes out of it.”

Erasing those criminals’ influence “takes a village,” Bell said, of city and local leaders working together. St. Paul officials announced plans to address crime in the area during a packed forum last week.

City Council President Mitra Jalali attended the forum and said expanding Kimball Court apartments could help, explaining that more rooms will help more people transition from homelessness to more permanent housing. Construction on that 22-unit expansion is expected to start in December.

St. Paul Police Department officers have patrolled the Midway area since August, and announced plans to focus enforcement in the area soon. Authorities declined to share further details for fear of criminals finding out.

Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative, the group that owns Kimball Court, said it added lighting, cleaned the apartment’s alley and sidewalks, posted a “no trespassing” sign, penned an affidavit to allow more police enforcement and plans to install exterior security cameras.

Members of the Hamline Midway Coalition are organizing an action plan to address safety and business concerns. But to make a difference now, McPherson said residents should volunteer and help.

“If I could find my way, and here I am today making a difference out here in a community where I do not even live but I’m concerned about, that’s huge,” McPherson said. “If you want to see a change you’ve got to be the change. If a person can’t see it in you, how the hell can you expect it out of them?”

Staff writer Stephen Montemayor contributed to this story.