This is u my suggested agenda for today during my time. A brief background and just kind of how we got here very brief and the planning process. I want to talk a little bit about the actual encampment closure and the report out of what happened, the impact of that encampment closure. Um, I want to uh for item number four, align it's called aligning on the facts, but there's just some misinformation at times that I want to make sure that we just provide information or some questions that are out there that I feel like should be spoken directly to. um talk a little bit about Randolph encampment based on um a larger migration of individuals to that encampment and then um next steps.

This is in addition to the $1.1 million that we sent over, transferred over to the county. Um if you remember that uh just to delineate just for you all and the public um it was about $200,000 for a um a contract with between Ramsey County and um Catholic Charities and then 800 a little over $800,000 for additional shelter uh emergency shelter services beds.

Um, what also happened is we had multiple concerns and issues when it came to uh certain a uh activists on site. Um blocking access in and out of the encampment. We had um uh our staff members being harassed uh shoved spat at uh we we even had nails and spikes in the encampment um to puncture tire staff's tires or harm those that are walking in the encampment.

The reason that we do not want individuals out there is because we have reports that says that the so soil is contaminated. This is a very wooded area. You have issues of getting in and out. Uh recently we had a birth at the site. It was a steelorn. Um fire can attest to it. They tried to and they did get out there, but they had to get into a side byside gator because their trucks and their vehicles could not reach the person. This is not acceptable. We need to be able to reach individuals when they need help.

I cannot share or express how concerned I am with, you know, being on site during the time as well of the closure and there being nail poses out, there being barricades to the entryways, there are folks that can go in and folks that can't go in. Um, you know, it it truly is very difficult and also not seeing that from the folks that were actually residing at the encampment.

I think there was too much of an emphasis on a media strategy and not on a safety strategy. Um and also some of the some of the factors that just from my observation from last month's uh presentation and many of the conversations we've had is that uh especially with this transition of a new administration. I don't think there was really a deep inventory of um taking into consideration the all the tools, the resources, the staff, the relationships that was built um over years um and really a plan to really measure success.

The Randolph encampment that people move towards is unstable. And so we are going to do everything we can to support the individuals in leaving and getting out and getting into shelter. But my request is we need your help because many of you have megaphones and many of you have influence and many of you have uh constituents that listen to you and what you say matters. What you say goes a long way and what you say changes minds. So, the more we can be on the same page on how we are working together on this, I think the better.

It's important to know that access to those beds is through the um Ramsey County um shed team or shelter entry and diversion team. So they actually book the beds for us. As far as what we've seen, we ourselves can only document one actual individual that we know came directly from Pig's Eye to shelter and was successfully um placed in shelter.

We also don't require sobriety. We don't allow um use on site. We're a harm reduction facility, but um we if someone comes in and they're clearly under the influence, we will monitor that individual to make sure that they and the other people in our shelter can remain safe, but we don't maintain a sobriety check when people are checking in.

I would say that um the main barrier around um couples is physical setup that we have 60 um um or so beds for women and then the rest of the beds for men. And it's a congregate bunk situation. And we um often hear from women that one of the reasons they um are reluctant to seek shelter is they need to feel safe and some are fleeing domestic violence situations. So having a male um identifying individual in the same space could be triggering or um uh [snorts] um cause them to be fearful.