25 signatures reached
To: Minnesota Governor Tim Walz
Governor Walz -- Direct the Interagency Council to Provide Resources for Powderhorn Park Sanctuary
State resources are urgently needed to address the development of a large encampment of unhoused people in Powderhorn Park in Minneapolis. We ask you to:
(1) Direct the Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness to make resolution of the encampment crisis an urgent priority by finding safe and appropriate housing for its residents as soon as possible;
(2) Direct the Interagency Council to identify and make available to Hennepin County and to the Minneapolis Parks Board specific emergency funds sufficient to resolve the crisis; and
(3) Direct the Interagency Council to develop protocols and set aside funding to assist with housing solutions for any future or other encampments of unhoused people in Minnesota.
(1) Direct the Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness to make resolution of the encampment crisis an urgent priority by finding safe and appropriate housing for its residents as soon as possible;
(2) Direct the Interagency Council to identify and make available to Hennepin County and to the Minneapolis Parks Board specific emergency funds sufficient to resolve the crisis; and
(3) Direct the Interagency Council to develop protocols and set aside funding to assist with housing solutions for any future or other encampments of unhoused people in Minnesota.
Why is this important?
We have been closely following the development of a large encampment of unhoused people in Powderhorn Park, and the attempts by the Minneapolis Parks Board to deal with the situation. We support the Board Resolution 2020-253 passed at their meeting on June 17, 2020 in which the Board committed to allow the encampment to remain temporarily while working to find housing for the unhoused people there; and called on local and State government to increase funding to address this crisis. During the June 17 meeting, it was clear that the Park Board has no funding or expertise available to address the crisis presented by a large encampment of unhoused people during a pandemic and in the wake of an uprising centered just a few blocks away. David Hewitt, the Director of Hennepin County's Office to End Homelessness, testified that it will not be easy to find housing for the residents of the Powderhorn encampment, that the County's resources are already maxed out by the rapid adjustments that were made due to the pandemic, and that there is little or no capacity to address the needs of this encampment. Al Bangoura, Superintendent of Minneapolis Parks, stated that he is attempting to work closely with the Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness, but also stated that that no state or local government agency has committed any funds to assist the Park Board to keep the residents of the encampment safe or to find them appropriate housing. Parks Commissioner Lionel French stated that he believes Governor Walz needs to get involved, and we agree. We therefore are petitioning you for your intervention in this matter.