Dear Neighbors,
Before I begin, I want to acknowledge a worry: that our words may sound cold or uncaring. That is not our heart. This perspective comes from 23 neighbors who love our community. We hesitated to speak up, but the situation feels too important to stay silent.
We are writing out of concern about the 60-person Aldi encampment and Council Member Jason Chavez’s recent vote opposing its removal. We have deep empathy for unhoused individuals—many of us have loved ones who have faced homelessness or addiction—and we agree that Minneapolis must provide real help. At the same time, the encampment has created serious safety and health hazards and Jason Chavez’s attempt to block its removal shows unresponsiveness to this part of the problem.
The encampment lacks water service, leading to human waste in business doorways and alleys such as ours. Drug paraphernalia is left on sidewalks, and overdoses have occurred in our yards. Individuals struggling with addiction stagger in streets; propane tanks pose fire risks; some families have faced harassment. Neighborhood children, some of whom attend the nearby school, are exposed to these unsanitary, unsafe conditions.
Despite these problems, Mr. Chavez voted against city efforts to remove the encampment, leaving our community without relief or a clear plan. Fortunately, other council members approved legal action against the property owner, opening a path toward resolution.
Homelessness is a humanitarian crisis that requires compassionate, responsible solutions—solutions that respect the dignity of unhoused individuals while protecting neighborhood families. Ward 9 deserves leadership that pursues safe, hygienic shelter, treatment programs, and accountability for property owners, while also safeguarding residents.
We believe it is time for new leadership on City Council who will bring forward compassionate and practical solutions for both our community and those experiencing homelessness.
Thank you for hearing our perspective. We love our neighborhood, and we hope you understand our shared values of compassion and action.
Roy Cerling
Teresa Cerling
Elizabeth Obrien
Nancy Ford
The news is reporting there is a mass shooting that appears to have occurred at the Sabri/Chavez encampment tonight. Good job by our city council people that voted against shutting this down (Chavez, Chowdhury, Chughtai, Payne).
I went to the Aldi today near Camp Sabri/Chavez. What a nightmare for the people living in this drug camp, living in this neighborhood, attending the nearby School and trying to patronize these businesses! I will not return to any of these businesses and will go to Richfield instead until this matter is dealt with and these residents are treated humanely and moved into treatment settings. I work part-time nearby seasonally, and am considering requesting a transfer to a different location. I guess Jason Chavez is fine allowing this drug Camp to continue given that he voted against taking legal action.
Shame on you Hamoudi Sabri!
Your encampment does NOT treat people with dignity. If you felt so strongly about caring for these people you would provide your own sanitary environment including restrooms and washing stations. You would schedule regular removal of the garbage instead of letting your neighbors and the school children attending school near your property suffer these conditions.
Your hypocrisy is truly astounding! The $15,000 fine that you’re being levied would go a long ways towards sanitary solutions if you truly cared about humanity and homeless people as you claim.
You continue to provide a drug rich environment that only helps fuel the horrible waste of a god given life. You are using this as a political ploy to make Mayor Frey look inept when in fact, he is making the tough choices to try and deliver solutions to these struggling individuals in our city.
Anyone with half a brain can see that Mayor Frey’s solutions are considerably more humane than your own.