April 7, 2017
ArchCity Defenders and the Saint Louis University Legal Clinics reached an agreement on behalf of people experiencing homelessness that requires the City of St. Louis to stop using a warehouse as a homeless shelter.
Under the terms of the agreement, the “St Louis Weed Control” warehouse on North 13th Street will close no later than June 5. Throughout the negotiations, the City of St. Louis stated that it no longer stores chemicals, lawn mowers, or vehicles in the warehouse. The settlement also requires the City not to use the Forestry Division’s buildings as a place for human habitation in the future.
ArchCity Defenders and SLU Law Legal Clinic filed the lawsuit on behalf of homeless individuals put at risk by the City’s response to a manufactured crisis. Attorneys intend to monitor the warehouse shelter in the next 60 days and will pursue additional litigation if the city deviates from its agreement.
“The City of St. Louis has publicly promised to reduce the population at Weed Control to zero by moving residents to safe, habitable shelter or housing. We will be watching to ensure that the City fulfills its responsibility to homeless residents,” said Thomas B. Harvey, Executive Director of ArchCity Defenders.
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Media Contact:
Z. Gorley, Communications Director at ArchCity Defenders
zgorley@archcitydefenders.org