A Minnesota neighborhood where many residents vowed not to call the cops on people in their community following the death of George Floyd, are finding it difficult to come up with alternatives after about 300 homeless people have set up camp in a local park.
Those who live nearby where Floyd was killed at the hands of cops on May 25 welcomed dozens of tents to Powderhorn Park while the displaced people look for permanent accommodation, urging officials not to evict them for now.
But in the past two weeks since they’ve been using the open space, people living near the park have complained about a heavy flow of traffic keep them up at night as drug dealers. Two people in the encampment have already been taken away in ambulances after overdosing.
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One woman told the Times she no longer feels it’s safe for her children to play in the park alone.
Another mother admitted that as much as she is thinking about how uncomfortable she feels about some of the campers, she’s also checking her privilege and thinking about how the people without permanent shelter could be feeling.
Catcalling was also the complaint of one woman who spoke to the Times.
Five women, at least four of whom are white, met to vent about the camp recently.
A Mexican-Native American neighbor – who didn’t attend the meeting because it was in English – doesn’t believe that locals will allow the camp to stay much longer.
A black woman who plans to move back soon said it’s only a matter of time before the current residents turn back to calling police as they lack options.
‘If something really goes down that makes people uncomfortable, I think they’re going to call,’ Akhmiri Sekhr-Ra – who lived there for 10 years and has a long-time policy of not calling cops – told the Times.
liberal dream utopia.