Speakers tell council $1M won't meet need; urge vouchers and permanent housing

Several speakers told the council the city’s $1,000,000 plan for temporary shelter beds would not address the scale of need and that resources would be better used for vouchers and permanent housing supports. Jim Seaman said many residents at the encampment face serious medical needs and that a permanent housing approach would cost less in the long term. "If we wanted to...key and efficiency in Saint Paul cost $900 a month... That's $15,000 a year all in," he said, contrasting that with cited per-bed costs.

Mary Manning, who was homeless in earlier years, described encampment life as a place of autonomy and community and warned that sweeping camps removes residents' autonomy and community supports. Adam Beers emphasized reallocation of enforcement funds to support vital documents, phones and short-term housing to stabilize people.