Author Archive
Around Town: “Hope is a discipline.”
Quote from Joe Davis, a performer at Powderhorn Park’s MLK Day Celebration Martin Luther King Day celebration at Powderhorn Park. It’s Mizz Mercedez’ Rondo Double Dutch! Photo: LAURA HULSCHER
Unhoused Residents and Housed Neighbors Respond to Multiple Encampment Fires Amidst Chronic Shortage of Safe Places to Seek Shelter
A growing network of community-led groups and outreach organizations are continuing to support unhoused residents transitioning into stable living conditions, while city, county and state governments are falling short. By NENOOKAASI COALITION Fires broke out at two Southside Minneapolis encampments within minutes of each other on January 6, 2025. On a day with below freezing temperatures, over 230 residents of these encampments were left searching for shelter after police cleared the camps. According to Christin Crabtree, a local organizer who was assisting the response efforts, “at one camp residents were able to put out the fire and police subsequently evicted them. The fire destroyed the other camp and police evicted residents, letting only a few retrieve their belongings. In both cases, outreach and neighbors were prevented by MPD from helping our neighbors move and salvage what little they own.” A resident who asked to be identified as L stated, “This isn’t [...]
