Meeting Set for Next Steps Regarding Lincoln Center Homeless Shelter

(KNSI) — Officials in St. Cloud will discuss what tools it has to deal with Lincoln Center homeless shelter before a meeting about it on February 6th.

Businesses and residents near Lincoln Center have complained of assaults, thefts, sexual misconduct, trespassing, drug use and overdoses since the no-barrier facility opened in 2021. The discussion about the shelter Monday night was requested by City Councilman Mike Conway and Councilwoman Carol Lewis, who spoke with KNSI News after the meeting. “We want that criminality to go away so as doesn’t spill over into the surrounding neighborhood. We want people in the neighborhood to feel safe and secure. And when you’re starting to hear people not feeling safe and secure, you need to do something.”

City council members say they’ve also heard complaints that women at the shelter don’t feel safe.

According to police data, from January 1st to January 26th, officers were called 43 times for incidents at the shelter and another ten for issues outside the facility but connected to residents staying there. The city is also exploring fining the operators of Lincoln Center for excessive use of 911.

The homeless shelter was fined in December and January for having more people than the maximum ten allowed in the facility’s conditional use permit. At times, officials say 20 to 40 people have been allowed in overnight due to extreme cold. The city has yet to force people to leave the shelter because of the winter weather.

Lewis says her concerns do not mean she is against the shelter’s mission. “I want to make it absolutely clear that we are not opposed to the homeless shelter itself. It is not that, but we don’t want it to be an area of the community that is a target for criminal behavior.”

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