ST. LOUIS — The homeless encampment known as Camp Cole is closing Friday, having exhausted its lease and 90 days’ worth of funding.
Camp Cole opened Aug. 2 inside a warehouse owned by the StarWood Group at the corner of 14th and Cole streets. It was the city’s first “intentional encampment†created to offer the homeless a place to stay with access to various services, such as medical assistance and housing programs.
St. Patrick Center staffed the camp and funded it through donations from the StarWood Group and the Archdiocese of St. Louis, as well as private donors. The warehouse offers electrical outlets, regular meals and security staff. Portable restrooms were placed outside and a mobile shower visited the camp twice a week.
“It’s a whole lot better (than outside) when the elements come into play — the rain and the wind,†Camp Cole resident William Green, 57, said. “Then there’s the security aspect. You don’t have to worry about someone going into your tent and taking what little you do have.â€
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Camp Cole was created as the city and others worked to clear out a tent camp that cropped up this summer in Interco Plaza, the public space between St. Patrick Center and the new Square offices on Tucker Boulevard. The Interco Plaza encampment, where dozens of homeless people had pitched tents, became a safety issue. People staying there got in fights, and in one instance, a resident was shot and killed.
“I couldn’t wait to leave there,†Camp Cole resident Clinton Robinson, 30, said of the Interco Plaza camp. “People were getting shot there. It’s not a safe place at all.â€
Interco Plaza is now empty and has been fenced.
Camp Cole opened with 40 residents. As of Monday, 15 residents remained, all of whom had been issued housing vouchers. Of the 25 former residents, 11 left the camp, 10 were asked to leave after violating community guidelines, and four moved into housing.
Mayor Tishaura O. Jones has spoken about establishing “intentional encampments†that offer resources to the homeless, but the clearing of the plaza expedited the establishment of Camp Cole. Operating an encampment of this nature is two or three times more expensive than operating a traditional shelter, said St. Patrick Center CEO Anthony D’Agostino.
“We’re serving clients that are unable to go into a traditional shelter because of behavioral issues or episodic mental health conditions,†D’Agostino said. “Low barriers (to entry) mean more personnel on site — two to three individuals plus security. The short way to put it is, these are higher-need individuals, therefore there’s higher funding required.â€
Though the warehouse camp had enough funding to operate for just 90 days, the St. Patrick Center staff considers the experiment successful.
“It was difficult to case manage†at Interco, said Carly Smale, a coordinator with St. Patrick. “The first night (at Camp Cole), it was silent. ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ were finally able to sleep. We’ve been able to get a lot of work done in terms of addressing their immediate needs with doctors and housing vouchers.â€
Several residents said they vastly preferred Camp Cole to sleeping outside. And all were pleased to finally be given vouchers that will allow them to move to other housing. Some had waited months to be placed in housing through other programs.
Angelo Pate, 48, said he found himself homeless and living at Interco Plaza about three months ago as he was going through a divorce. He and others called the plaza “The Thunderdome.â€
“St. Patrick did a good thing, stepping in,†Pate said. The plaza “really could feel like a gladiator ring, sometimes … this is a good, patrolled facility.â€
Residents said there were few incidents inside Camp Cole — one or two fights outside the warehouse, they said, but nothing like what they’d seen at Interco Plaza. Police were never called to Camp Cole, staff members said.
“It gave us a sense of hope,†said a man who did not want to be identified.
St. Patrick Center officials said they’d like to host another encampment that offers resources like this one, but they have no timeline to do so.
Mayoral spokesman Nick Dunne said the city has funding through the American Rescue Plan to establish another encampment or “safe outdoor space,†but several of the city’s aldermen are not keen to host such a camp. The city has $750,000 available to construct it, and $1.25 million for services. This is outside of the $1.4 million for the Safe Haven program and $8 million in place for emergency shelters.
“In 2021, still during a pandemic, St. Louis has never had an intentional encampment, and we created one in very short order and had tremendous success,†D’Agostino said. “It was hard work to make it happen, but I’m glad we did. It would be sad if what we learned from the last three months isn’t utilized to continue to serve an underserved population.â€
