ST. LOUIS — With shelters straining for space, a camp in north St. Louis is expanding on private property and has become a hub for food, water and services for people who are homeless.
Summer brings more visibility to the homeless population, community members say, while fewer shelter beds are available than during the winter months.
And now, with a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing cities to make sleeping outdoors in public spaces like parks and sidewalks illegal, options for where people can settle outdoors could potentially change. St. Louis officials say they’re reviewing the decision.
The camp in north St. Louis, dubbed the Pallet Yard by its residents near Cass Avenue and North 10th Street, has expanded on property owned by Northside Regeneration developer Paul McKee. It is home to about 25 people with self-governed security patrols, a portable toilet and a common area in the shade.
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Ray Redlich, vice president of the New Life Evangelistic Center, attributes the growing population of the Pallet Yard to the destruction of the riverfront’s former homeless encampment in May 2023. And last July, a handful of tents went up outside of City Hall before ballooning into a full-blown homeless encampment that fall. Over 30 tents were pitched there before ultimately being shut down in October, with the city citing fights, drugs and general disorder.
The homeless population in St. Louis has grown in recent years. In 2019, an counted 1,031 people in St. Louis who were homeless; this year, it rose to 1,250 people, said Adam Pearson, director of the Department of Human Services for the city.
St. Louis has 760 year-round, city-funded shelter beds. An additional 147 beds can open during brutally cold conditions, according to the city’s website.
“In the winter, a lot of people are more sympathetic and willing to help,†said Tom Burnham, retired communications director for Peter and Paul Community Services, which provides assistance to people who are homeless. “Shelters will take overcrowding in the winter but will be less likely to in the summer.â€
Data from Peter and Paul Community Services found that 354 people were turned away from shelters because of lack of space in June.
‘Word spreads quickly’
The Pallet Yard is home to about two dozen people, but roughly 100 people visit the camp daily to receive food and services provided by community groups, such as the New Life Evangelistic Center.
“Word spreads quickly about a new camp,†said Redlich, the center’s vice president.
The encampment is a few blocks west of Interstate 44, on a lot owned by McKee’s Northside Regeneration. For more than 15 years, NorthSide Regeneration has owned hundreds of properties on the near north side of the city, hoping to redevelop the area. More than $1.6 million in back taxes is owed on properties affiliated with the company, including $11,000 on the Pallet Yard lot. The properties potentially could be sold at auction next year.
McKee wouldn’t comment on the encampment but said in an emailed statement, “We agree with Mayor Jones’ statement … that we need a regional approach to address homelessness. We would like to be a part of that solution.â€
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones has said on multiple occasions that the city disproportionately bears the responsibility for the region’s homeless population. Last month, she proposed at a East-West Gateway Council of Governments meeting that homelessness, like crime, should be addressed by multiple municipalities.
Because the Pallet Yard is on private property, it likely wouldn’t be affected by the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to allow cities to outlaw camping on public land. Ward 14 Alderman Rasheen Aldridge said he doesn’t think the Board of Aldermen would take such an “inhumane action,†but he acknowledged that the camp posed unique obstacles because it is on privately owned land.
“It’s harder for (St. Louis’ Department of Human Services) to intervene because they’re on private property,†Aldridge said.
The department tries to work with people at the Pallet Yard, connecting them to food resources, drug treatment and housing planning.
Aldridge said he has received several calls about safety concerns from residents of the nearby Columbus Square and Cochran Gardens neighborhoods. They say some people who frequent the Pallet Yard are migrating into their neighborhoods, sometimes inebriated, and littering.
LaTisha Earl, who has lived in Columbus Square for 10 years, said “it’s ridiculous†that the city has yet to take action against the camp.
“People are defecating on sidewalks, church steps and in the park,†Earl said. “It’s spilling into our neighborhood. ... We can’t get the city to come out.â€
Two camp residents — Kevin Roberts and a man who identified himself as E.J. — say they have taken on duties to keep the Pallet Yard orderly.
E.J. said he has several plans for the property, such as sectioning it off by men, women and families to ensure everyone’s comfort. He also wants to get a dumpster for the camp. And he says he hosts bi-weekly talks about life skills, such as how to choose the necessities of life over immediate wants.
“The accomplishments we make here are more than worthwhile,†E.J. said.
To curb violence, Roberts said he and E.J. conduct nightly security walks around the perimeter of the camp with E.J.’s pitbull, Savage.
The pair “keeps the riff-raff out†by escorting people with “bad spirits and energy†out, Roberts said.
Pearson, with the St. Louis human services department, said encampments will be shut down if they have incidents of violence and become a public safety concern.
Aldridge, however, said eliminating one encampment won’t solve larger issues.
“If the camp gets shut down, you’re just moving the problem to a new area,†he said.