The Homeless Response Team report shows that progress is being made, but Minneapolis City Council members and advocates still have questions.​

In a recent committee of the whole meeting, the Minneapolis City Council discussed how it would work with the homeless response team this year.

Director of Regulatory Services Enrique Velázquez said there have been no city encampment closures from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2025. This comes after the city closed one major encampment last September, leading to criticism from the city council, reported by the Minnesota Daily.

The homeless response team met with people at Minneapolis encampments 433 times, according to the encampment report from Quarter Four. Hennepin County reported 133 people left unsheltered homelessness into permanent housing.  

Homelessness is an issue the city and county have been trying to solve since 2018. Point in Time Count from Hennepin County reported that homelessness decreased by 33% from January 2020.

The Hennepin County Director of Stability, David Hewitt, said in a statement that the county is trying to prevent homelessness by working with partners in 2026.​

At the meeting, city council members said that while the team had improved from last year, they still had more work to do. 

City Council Member Jamal Osman (Ward 6) said the city should work with the Minnesota Department of Transportation when violence occurs near encampments on the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s property.

“I don’t think we can wait for the summer when something is done,” Osman said.

Some in the meeting said the homeless population faced danger during Operation Metro Surge, which ended yesterday. Homeless shelters have helped homeless people obtain housing during the surge.

Velázquez said the team has changed their tactics since Operation Metro Surge.

“There will be no neck gators, nothing covering your face, wear street clothes, show that we’re 

not a part of those federal actions,” Velázquez said.

While some were happy with the progress of the city, others said the team and the Mayor’s work around homelessness could improve. City Council Member Soren Stevenson (Ward 8) said the Minneapolis Homelessness Response Team does not have the best relationship with the community.

“I have to bring some bad news from the streets, our staff on the ground is seen in the community snitches,” Stevenson said in a meeting.​

Naomi Wilson, a volunteer with Neoonkaasi, a nonprofit organization, said the Minneapolis Police Department’s encampment closure policy makes it hard for homeless people to trust the Homelessness Response staff.​

“A part of the struggle is that the city outreach workers work with the police, with MPD specifically,” Wilson said. “It’s very hard to have any kind of trust for the people, for unhoused people, because the police are usually the ones taking their tents.”​

Wilson said the surge of federal officers has made it harder for volunteers to find homeless people.

In January, the Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’ Hara issued a special order that would allow the police to take down encampments.

In an interview, Stevenson said he would like to see the city build a better relationship with the homeless community. One way Stevenson said relationships could improve is by implementing a safe parking ordinance, a zone where homeless people can stay and make it easier for case workers to find them.

“We really have a terrible crisis on our streets, I think most people know that,” Stevenson said. “They’ve seen that with their eyes over the last years, but it doesn’t have to be this way. We can do something different in this city.”