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City of Duluth Continues to Wage War on the Unhoused

On August 26 the Duluth City Council held a Meeting of the Whole to discuss “encampment response”.  At it they discussed the City’s response to homeless encampments in the wake of the shutdown of the encampment in front of City Hall on August 7.

Two things stood out about this discussion. The first was how much of it centered on punishing unhoused people.  It was a painful reminder of how much the city is doubling down on its drive to criminalize being homeless.  There was a lot of discussion about how many calls the City has gotten about unhoused folks setting up encampments, as well as how much it is costing to clean up those sites after the folks sleeping there are driven out.  The discussion quickly zeroed in on the City’s recent creation of an “Unhoused Encampment Coordinator”, which has been bestowed with 10 years worth of funding and has been moved from the Park Department to the Fire Department.  The reason for relocating this position to a different department?  Because unlike Parks, the Fire Department has “enforcement” authority. 

The other thing that stood out about the discussion was the HUGE disconnect between the approach the City is taking, and that of the advocates and community groups working on the issue of housing.  Katie Hayland was invited to address the Council.  Hayland is the director at the Union Gospel Mission.  They are also one of the folks heading up the Stepping On Up project.  Hayland laid out a concrete series of proposals that would actually help folks experiencing homelessness – like creating 100 more shelter beds and 200 units of actually affordable housing.  They then went on to expose how even the current band aid projects – like the Warming Center (a place where unhoused folks can go when it’s freezing out and the Shelters are full) and Safe Bay (a place where folks can park and sleep in their cars) – don’t have any funding yet for 2025.  Funny how there is 10 years of funding for rousting folks from encampments, but useful, concrete projects that actually help folks are in perpetual funding crisis!  Hayland also reminded Councilors of the urgent need to stop stonewalling on the plan to find a site for, fund and set up the “outdoor village”, a plan that would provide accommodation for 20 families.

Monday’s meeting was a painful illustration of the misplaced priorities that the City of Duluth continues to have.  Prioritizing the wants of the Chamber of Commerce for a pristine downtown that is welcoming to rich folks and tourists, the city is literally driving unhoused folks into the woods, and then even driving them out from there.  All while dragging its feet on investing in actual housing first type solutions, which get results.  The issue of housing is pressing for all working class people, housed and unhoused.  We need to stop letting big business and the market drive out public policy.  Invest in affordable public housing and start putting people before profits! 

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