Story by Remi Anderson, Fridley; Edited by Lale Akkin, Mounds View
The Appellant Tory Charlotte is a homeless woman who has had a difficult domestic life as a child, and ran away from home at age 14. Since running away and beginning life on the streets, she has been relocated to a shelter multiple times under the Encampment Removal Reporting Ordinance (2024-00114) for sleeping outside, and is now appealing to the courts.
The trial court ruled in favor of the City of Duluth, stating that public safety is the utmost priority, so allowing people to sleep outside and loiter around businesses is a hazard to the greater population. The city denied at trial that these choices were targeted at the homeless population, but did admit that they knew the homeless would be largely affected.
This is a Court of Appeals case by Averie Younge from the Shakopee delegation that will be debated in the next years of YIG. While her case will not play out this year, delegates can look forward to the future debate, whether the City of Duluth relocating Tory Charlotte to shelters for sleeping outside is an ordinance targeted at the homeless population, or if it is for the greater good of the city’s safety and wellbeing.