If you want to get involved in our Housing Justice Program, please reach out to our Program Manager, Lucid Thomas at: lucid@eastsidefreedomlibrary.org
“The East Side Freedom Library’s Housing Justice Program strongly condemns Mayor Kaohly Her’s administration and its decision to begin closing homeless encampments across Saint Paul in August. Calling this a “service-focused transition” does not change what it is: the forced displacement of our unhoused neighbors without a guarantee that every person will receive safe, accessible, permanent housing.
At ESFL, our work is rooted in solidarity, justice, equity, community knowledge, and the belief that those most affected by injustice must have power over the decisions shaping their lives. These closures directly contradict those values. Decisions about unhoused people cannot be made for them, without them, and then presented as compassionate care.
History has repeatedly shown that clearing encampments does not end homelessness. It breaks apart communities, disrupts connections to outreach and services, and forces people into more isolated and dangerous locations. Removing homelessness from public view is not the same as solving it. And while encampments are not ideal, they exist because our housing, shelter, healthcare, and economic systems have failed our neighbors.
Every person deserves the dignity and respect of having a meaningful choice in what their home, safety, and community look like — even when that choice creates discomfort or inconvenience for others. No one should have to surrender their dignity simply to become less visible.
Mayor Her’s office must stop treating unhoused people as a problem to be removed. Saint Paul cannot sweep its way out of homelessness. Housing ends homelessness. Displacement does not — and ESFL will continue to stand alongside our unhoused neighbors against policies that erase, criminalize, or silence them.”
If you would like to help spread the word on this issue you can do so on our social media channels here: