Sandra Johnson remembers her days without shelter well. 

“To be awakened to that, ‘get up, you can’t sleep here,’” she says. “That’s traumatizing, that’s devastating.”

The 71-year-old now lives at Catholic Charities Evergreen Residence, an affordable housing program in Minneapolis.

For six years, she experienced homelessness, finding shelter wherever she could, even living in her car.  

“And I was cited for that, and my car was towed, so that was the closest I came to sleeping out,” Johnson recalls. “Ma’am, you can’t sleep here.” 

She has special concerns about a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, clearing the way for cities to enforce bans on people sleeping outside in public spaces, resulting in possible fines or jail time.  

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“That’s one thing to be trespassing, but it’s another thing to be told you know, we’re going to take it a step further and cite you, give you a ticket, even jail you,” Johnson notes.

Supporters say the ruling gives state and local officials authority to clear ‘unsafe encampments.’

But cities would still have to enact ordinances allowing them to fine or jail people. 

“It was whether a municipality has the authority to not so much ban, but to criminally punish individuals found sleeping outdoors,” explains Enrique Velazquez, the Director of Regulatory Services for the City of Minneapolis.

But in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties, instead of citations or arrests, they’re trying to get people services and shelter.
   
“Our homeless response team goes out, does active engagement with individuals in the encampments,” Velazquez says. “We’re not a direct service provider. We partner with Hennepin County, which holds the continuum of care. Their network of social service providers to go out and engage.”

Hennepin County released a statement about the SCOTUS ruling, which says in part:

“Hennepin County has not used fines or jail time as a penalty for camping in unauthorized spaces. As a human services agency, our main focus is the work of preventing homelessness and of helping people transition into safe, permanent housing.”

Ramsey County also responded to the ruling:

“Ramsey County is committed to addressing homelessness with compassion and providing safe solutions that are humane and respectful. Our approach aligns with county goals to strengthen the well-being of residents, cultivate prosperity, enhance opportunity, and model accountability.”

RELATED: Some cities facing homelessness crisis applaud Supreme Court decision, while others push back

The high court’s ruling came just as the Wilder Foundation released its latest study on homelessness in Minnesota.

The group says 10,522 people experienced homelessness on a single night- the second highest level in 30 years.

“About a third of the people that we talked to had been turned away from shelter in the last three months,” says Michelle Decker-Gerrard, Senior Research Director, and co-manager of the foundation’s Minnesota homeless study. “The most common place that they slept was outside or camping, or in their car, or a bus shelter. The last thing we want to do is criminalize people for having to sleep outside or feeling they need to sleep outside.” 

City records show there are now 31 encampments in Minneapolis, with a total of 201 residents.

Ramsey County’s latest point-in-time count shows there are 410 people without shelter on a single night.  

Service agencies say long-term, affordable housing is the best solution to deal with this crisis. 

“We need more services for people as they enter housing, so that as they’re coming out of homelessness, they have the support and resources to be successful,” declares Keith Kozerski, Chief Program Officer for Catholic Charities. “People don’t want to be living on the street and feeling vulnerable all the time.”

Local agencies say they are making progress.

Hennepin County says since 2022, more than 1100 people, working with the Homeless to Housing Team, have transitioned into permanent housing- and that 97% have not re-entered the homelessness system.

As for Johnson, she’s now a volunteer, teaching computer skills to residents at Evergreen, and has advocated at the state capitol for those experiencing homelessness. 

“That’s something terrible to live with, okay? Where am I going lay my head tonight and be safe?” she declares. “We really need to dig deep and get really serious and get down to the business of getting affordable housing based on the income people are making.”