In the summer of 2018, Minneapolis suddenly became the latest American city famous for its homelessness. A gathering of 300 people took the city by storm and added a new angle on this country's homelessness saga. Almost all the camp residents were
of the area Native American tribes. I began visiting this camp to learn the
stories of those who called it home. What brought them here? What was life like here? And what kinds of hopes and dreams did these residents have beyond this camp? I wanted to reveal the humanity behind this largely faceless crisis... ...to document this particular episode of this nationwide problem and to learn why it exists--and perhaps what might be done to best address it. The following is a story of this camp known as
"The Wall". And it's a collection of the stories of those
living...and dying here. The Minneapolis Police Department has a liaison that has been on scene here in south Minneapolis handing out food and water. The city has brought in restrooms, hand washing stations, and garbage cans. Housing is a right. It should be a right for everyone. And the city is moving forward in a very aggressive fashion. In a matter of weeks, the encampment along Hiawatha Avenue has quadrupled. Drug trafficking has risen and disease associated with exposure to hazardous materials has also spiked. Most of the hundred and twenty people living there are Native American, and each has their own story. We are hopeful that we can get to the point where we can end the encampment by the end of September. KARE 11 News at 5:00 Leaders stepped up efforts to bring much-needed medical attention to those
camps. Many of these homeless battle mental health and addiction. Proof is this container collected just yesterday of used needles. Critical efforts to provide food, clean restrooms, and even a hygiene center have helped but also created misconceptions. Yes, people have, you know, left housing to come here thinking that there would be a quicker avenue to get someplace, which is not true. City leaders are pushing back their timeline for relocating a homeless camp. The city now says it will be mid-October before they have a solution. On Thursday, the City Council will
consider two sites for relocating the camp. One is a vacant lot at 26th and
Minnehaha next to Aurora charter school. The other is a former Roof Depot
warehouse at 28th and Longfellow. 26-year-old Alyssa Skip-in-the Day died
Saturday near the entrance to the camp after she had an asthma attack. Her cousin told us she didn't have her inhaler. The group Natives Against Heroin is working around the clock, in the middle of all the tents... ...assisting with medical needs,
distributing water and food, and trying to provide security. We push out the dope dealers as much as we can to confront them, because we say,
"We don't want you here." In late July, there were 25 people living in tents,
a month later closer to 160. Today, about 300 people are crowded into the spot. Thursday night, the council voted to point staff in the direction of building the Navigation Center on the city-owned property at 2600 Minnehaha Ave. That decision brought dozens of Aurora Charter School employees to protest... ...since 2600 Minnehaha sits directly next to where the children play. I'm afraid for the kids. My kid goes there. They came out of the neighborhood into our building to get away from it. And now we're going to look across the street
and see it? It's not fair to them. Shortly after the council meeting this afternoon, Mayor Frey says he toured another site on Cedar Avenue that belongs to the Red Lake Nation. He says that, too, could potentially be a sight for consideration next week. The city of Minneapolis is officially working with
the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians to relocate a
homeless encampment. The Red Lake nation is offering up a 1.5 acre parcel of land just east of the encampment near 2109 Cedar Avenue South. The current buildings need to be remediated then torn down to make way for our temporary Navigation Center and housing. Red Lake believes that if permits are issued quickly, it will take six weeks to get the site ready. Friends say the 51-year-old grandmother
died of a suspected overdose this weekend. After her death, Natives Against Heroin posted their own video on Facebook, showing them kicking out a
couple of suspected heroin dealers. And the plan is to get those folks in the encampment across the street to a new shelter, that's currently being renovated called the Navigation Center. The City hopes to do that by November or December. Deputy County Administrator Jennifer DeCubellis said moving the homeless to a temporary Navigation Center beginning in December... ...will make them safe from the elements and provide them an environment free of drugs, as it will be supervised. Single-digit wind chills and blowing snow. The elements are stacking up against people who only have a thin layer of nylon separating them from the cold. Hennepin County Health Services staffs the camp daily to offer health care addiction medication and shelter. So far they have relocated 18 families to shelters three other families and 17 adults were moved to supportive housing. Marjorie Garcia is one of 16 people Avivo and Red Lake Nation have gotten out of a tent and into a home. Now Reg tells us that six more people have been approved will be moved from the homeless encampment in the next few days. Less than two hours ago, a fire started and spread to multiple tents. This could have been a lot worse. Fortunately nobody was hurt but here's what it looked like. People living here told us they heard an explosion! The fire department says an unattended propane heater caused that fire. The mayor says that this temporary safe shelter site here on Cedar Avenue will be up and running by early to mid December. And we saw some crews on scene prepping the site here today, but that's still a couple of weeks away. When it opens, the Navigation Center will provide 120 beds inside heated tents. Until then, firefighters continue to patrol and
inspect the homeless encampment, and the fire chief has been on scene teaching fire safety. The mayor says there are immediate
openings at other shelters in the city right now... ...if people want to use them before the Navigation Center opens. Breaking news that happened overnight: A
fire at the Hiawatha homeless camp in Minneapolis. The second in just 10 days.
This is video at the scene just hours ago. Well fortunately no one got hurt, but
we have learned that six tents there were destroyed. And now there is this flat, charred area where the tents once stood. I got a mix of opinions from people I
talked to you from the camp today. Some say they're glad it's going away, because they don't think it's safe anymore. Others say they plan to stay put. Red Lake and Hennepin County have helped 140 people to move from the tent camp to permanent housing. It's unclear how many remain at the camp, but we're told there is room for everyone at the Navigation Center if they choose to come. Tribal leaders do not want to force anyone to go but they cannot stay at the camp. It could be the beginning of the end for the homeless camp off Hiawatha in Minneapolis. Ten people moved into that center this afternoon and many others could follow over the next several days. The temporary shelter offers meals, addiction treatment, and health care. The people who do move to the Navigation Center would be able to work with nonprofits to find long-term housing. This shelter will stay open until May,
and then after that... ...the Red Lake nation plans to replace the Navigation Center with an affordable housing project... ...which speaks to the long term goals that they have there at that shelter. The new Navigation Center will be a low
barrier setup. Users can come in while under the influence, but they cannot actually use while inside the fence. We're using a housing first approach. No,
we will not have drug use on site. But, we will not be turning away people and
having them take a test before admittance. I would visit the shelter throughout the spring of 2019. Just outside, was daily open drug use and drug dealing. Inside, residents use heroin and other drugs openly. Overdoses occurred regularly. One overdose in February took the life
of Genevieve Littlewind. And one in January, took the life of Todd Weldon. This was his memorial fire at the shelter. And then I'm going to get deeply involved in the community, see... ...starting a boxing organization and discipline. It's going to be called "Thunder of the Red Nations." Earl would join Kat at the shelter. For one evening in the spring, they finally visited two of their six children. The navigation shelter closed on June
3rd. Most shelter residents had moved onto housing. But several, including Kat and Earl, did not. This is representative of the growing homeless problem across the state and nation. In 2018, the homeless recorded in Minnesota reached an all-time high of over 10,000. This is triple what was recorded in 1991. Six months since last seeing him, Earl was found unresponsive on a Minneapolis street in the middle of the afternoon. Earl is the fourth person from this film to have died. He was the first person I met back at the camp. And he would share his life as a story from which others can learn and take action.
