ST PAUL, Minn. — Union Gospel Mission Twin Cities has long helped people experiencing homelessness and other problems.
Now, the nonprofit's outreach team is ramping up efforts to reach people living in an encampment right outside its men's campus in St. Paul.
The encampment is located northwest of the building off of North John Street and University Avenue East. At least a couple dozen tents are stationed right next to a fence along UGMTC's property line.
Community Relations Director Sarah Peterka says tents have been springing up for around a year-and-a-half now.
"It ebbs and flows based on the folks who kinda are leading the encampment," Peterka said. "Weather also plays a factor in it."
This month, UGMTC received an email from an individual concerned about the encampment, writing, "There is a recurring crisis of a tent city … No one feels safe going to and from the Mission. Please never stop and resolve the issue."
Peterka made sure to respond.
"[The encampment is] not on our property, so we don't have the ability to remove those folks or move them on," she told KARE 11 on Wednesday. "It is Saint Paul public property."
She went on to say UGMTC is in contact with the city and its Homeless Assistance Response Team.
"We wanna work with the city," Peterka said, "and make sure everyone that happens to be outside is safe and has resources that they need - and - we wanna be able to swing our doors open and say, 'Come in and have a meal and learn more about what we're doing.'"
Union Gospel Mission Twin Cities is a Christian nonprofit that started helping people in 1902. With more than a century of services, the organization did not hesitate to offer help to those living right outside its doors today.
Peterka says an outreach team as well as chaplains have been visiting the encampment weekly, and some people receive the help.
"A handful of folks leave the encampment and come to our emergency services program and into our transitional housing program as well," Peterka said. "So, sometimes it does work. Sometimes it works to have that invitation or hot meals, a shower, some clean clothes, a safe place to put your head under a roof which is a little safer than being outside."
Some people decline.
"There are a lot of folks who are shelter-adverse out in the encampments," Peterka said.
The email wasn't the nonprofit's first complaint over the last year-and-a-half, as it's also heard from several nearby businesses.
"Every so often, we receive some kind of comment or concern about the John Street encampment," Peterka said. "This one complaint actually helped us get together with the city of Saint Paul and the HART team, and we're working on a comprehensive plan."
Peterka says in the next week or so, UGMTC plans to meet with the city and its HART team to work out the details of their comprehensive plan.
The nonprofit is also looking ahead to its annual Thanksgiving Day meal, asking the community to help stock its kitchen shelves by Monday, Sept. 30. UGMTC served and distributed 220,868 nutritious meals throughout 2023.