Once again, Jacob Frey's administration has chosen to not take accountability for their actions, and instead peddle a demonstrably false narrative about our unhoused neighbors. (Gift Link to opinion piece in the Strib) www.startribune.com/opinion-were... - ThreadSky

flanknits.bsky.social • 9 days ago

Once again, Jacob Frey's administration has chosen to not take accountability for their actions, and instead peddle a demonstrably false narrative about our unhoused neighbors.
(Gift Link to opinion piece in the Strib)

https://www.startribune.com/opinion-were-not-turning-away-from-encampments-were-lifting-people-up/601336580?utm_source=gift

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jedgarw.bsky.social•8 days ago

Do folks in favor of encampments live near them? Have empty backyards they will offer as alternative sites? Have unused rooms in their homes? Have churches empty every night? Have a brother who would have died young had he had the option of panhandling and tent living?

jedgarw.bsky.social•8 days ago

Yes, he lived with us for a time. Happily he got a full range of family support & state services for 45 years - might have said he preferred "freedom" but would not have lived long had he had the option. Thanks of course to those who get food/medical care to the homeless & bravo to the survivors.

flanknits.bsky.social•9 days ago

Cloaking the unethical and cruel Minneapolis policies in the language of compassion doesn’t change the reality: these policies are demonstrably dangerous to our unhoused neighbors.

And then there’s the lying and twisting of the narrative.

flanknits.bsky.social•9 days ago

Jacob Frey has repeatedly cited on the campaign trail a figure of “27 people” currently experiencing unsheltered homelessness. There has been significant pushback on that number from outreach workers (and anyone with eyes to see their unhoused neighbors as individual human beings)

flanknits.bsky.social•9 days ago

The opinion piece is careful to couch this statement as “35 people experiencing unsheltered homelessness IN ENCAMPMENTS” (emphasis mine). Note the distinction. The Frey administration has made encampments almost an impossibility.

flanknits.bsky.social•9 days ago

But eliminating visible encampments does not mean eliminating unsheltered homelessness. Our unhoused neighbors are still there, just pushed deeper into the shadows and made more vulnerable.

flanknits.bsky.social•9 days ago

Encampments provide community, safety, and a place where outreach workers and case workers can find their clients and neighbors to provide food, supplies, and services.

When encampments are destroyed and people forced into the shadows, neighbors miss medical care, housing referrals, and more.

flanknits.bsky.social•9 days ago

And without the safety provided by living in community, our unhoused neighbors are made more vulnerable - to harassment, assault, overdoses, trafficking, and ICE.

stevequick.bsky.social•9 days ago

The encampment near me in Saint Paul has grown from 4 to about 40, so maybe they're just getting pushed across the river.

flanknits.bsky.social•9 days ago

This is definitely happening - we hear from some folks that they're sleeping in St Paul, even if they spend their daytime hours in Minneapolis

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