By admin 
Days before the city of St. Paul is set to begin a shutdown down of its major homeless encampments, the mood of residents at Pig’s Eye Park encampment is tense.
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The city says about 140 people call Pig’s Eye Park, the largest homeless encampment in the city, their home. The encampment is tucked away from public view, accessible only by foot. It’s a spacious area. Tents of every color decorate its outskirts, some in close proximity like a tight-knit community, others in solace under the shade of trees. Dozens of resident dogs roam the grounds freely.
There’s a new detail on the grounds: Multiple “Notice to Vacate” signs were recently erected around the encampment. “Encampments pose real health and safety risks,” they read, directing everyone to remove all personal belongings before work crews arrive to “clean the area” on Aug. 5.
A large fire, thought to be linked to a fuel tank explosion in the early morning hours Thursday, brightly lit the site like an omen of the week that lay ahead. “He lost his home,” resident Natalia Provost said of the man whose belongings were destroyed in the fire that afternoon. “Just like many of us here are losing our home.”
Everybody is overwhelmed by how to prepare for the sweep, said Provost, 27, who has been homeless since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A lot of us are disappointed with people not understanding that this is our home even if it doesn’t look nice and fancy,” she said.
The mayor’s office listed safety concerns as the primary reason for clearing out the encampments. There have been two fatal overdoses, a series of tent fires and even a fatal shooting last year.
But local activists have criticized the mayor for a lack of a concrete plan for the residents. Provost said many residents already relocated to Pig’s Eye from other encampments that were cleared in the past. Most are from the Twin Cities area, some from Wisconsin and others from as far away as Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana.
Michelle Buchly first came to the encampment to escape an abusive relationship with her ex-boyfriend. She said at Pig’s Eye she’s been able to find community, and everybody is fine with her as long as she’s respectful.
On Thursday afternoon she washed a new (old) tent she got in an area of the park residents call the “Oasis” – a cool stream at the end of a path through the woods, a five minute walk from the encampment. Fresh water runs here; residents use it to bathe, wash their clothes and gather drinking water.
As she rinses the tent, Buchly confesses she’s scared of what’s ahead. Pig’s Eye has been somewhat of a respite in her journey. Like most, she does not know where she will end up. “I don’t like it,” she said. “This is all we have. This is our home and we make it what it is. Where do you go when you don’t have a home?”
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Advocates urge hold on sweeps
At a “Stop the Sweeps” press conference on Wednesday, speakers listed three demands for the mayor: create a city committee that will coordinate services and give decision-making power to encampment residents, put a hold on sweeps and end the policy of making enchantments illegal and halt the removal of tents by police.
Shelter providers have been scrambling to make more beds available, but encampment residents can be resistant to formal shelters for a variety of reasons, including negative past experiences, cleanliness concerns and an unwillingness to becoming sober.
Katie Poferl, a volunteer at the Pig’s Eye encampment, said women often face additional challenges with shelters. Many rely on dogs for protection and refuse to give up their animals for a night at the shelter.
Volunteers like Poferl are ever present in the encampment, especially in these final weeks. Some bring activities, like rock painting, some grill chicken spears, others relay information about shelters and detox centers.
“I think a lot of people have already come up with an idea of who these people are,” Poferl said. “When you’re able to come down and build relationships with people, your perspective changes – especially when you learn people’s stories or how they got here.”
Connecting with services
Poferl and her husband started their nonprofit, Ezra’s Light Foundation, after spending time at the encampment last year. Since then they’ve come every Thursday, setting up activities and helping residents connect with services near the entrance.
Access to and communication with shelters can be complicated, Poferl said, especially for those without a working cell phone. “It feels like a broken system,” she said.
Provost, who said she has been living at Pig’s Eye for a year, encourages community members to visit the encampment and make their own judgment of the community.
“That means a lot to us – if somebody cares,” she said. “That gives you motivation in itself to do something with your life. … A lot of people here appreciate time more than anything.”
Working with a case worker through the city’s Homeless Assistance Response Team, Provost will have the chance to move into her first apartment halfway through August. For the first few weeks of August, however, she will be searching for a place to go, along with her neighbors.
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This story was originally published August 2, 2026 at 3:44 PM.