The Hamline-Midway Coalition, which represents more than 10,000 people in the Midway, told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS there has been an uptick in open-air drug use, overdoses and crime, especially at the corner of University and Snelling Avenues.

Coalition member Justin Lewandowski told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that neighbors are working toward positive solutions to turn things around.

“We’ve got a lot of ongoing and very pressing issues with the very visible scars of the opioid crisis. We’ve also got more increase of crime,” said Lewandowski. “Whether it’s 7:30 in the morning, or 12 o’clock at night, there’s a lot of open use particularly with Fentanyl. We see a constant surge of used needles and other bits of paraphernalia. “We’ve seen a huge increase in opioid overdoses as well.”

St. Paul City Council President Mitra Jalali told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS the city is working with the neighborhood to improve conditions.

“A lot of that work is a front-line effort like preventing people from overdosing and saving lives,” said Jalali. “I would love to see us evolve to the approach that we’re actually helping people get into treatment programs and that we’re expanding treatment capacity.”

In a September 13 email to residents, one neighborhood group said St. Paul Police told them, “33 individuals had been arrested over the past week. The largest category of arrests were for drug dealing. Arrests also included assault, weapons, outstanding warrants, and trespassing violations.”

The Hamline-Midway Coalition will hold a town hall meeting with elected city, county, and state leaders to address these issues on October 17.