ST. LOUIS – There are growing concerns about a Sudanese refugee couple living in squalor for nearly three years in front of someone’s house in St. Louis.
Even with a harsh winter predicted, city officials are no longer responding to health and safety issues repeatedly raised by residents and police, according to multiple residents.
Emails from city officials to residents reveal a plan to have the makeshift dwelling built moved by early this month, with the refugees relocated to safer, more appropriate shelter.
As of Thanksgiving eve, the dwelling is still occupied at the corner of Spring Avenue and Chippewa Street. And it is larger than ever.
The seasons have changed since FOX 2 first told you about this in the summer. The size of the dwelling has changed, too. It now takes up more street than the sidewalk, sticking out slightly beyond cars parked along the curb on Spring.
Concerns about summer heat for the couple living there have become concerns about potentially dangerous cold.
“It’s supposed to be a bad winter,” Steve McClanahan said.
The homeless couple’s dwelling is directly in front of McClanahan’s house.
“I worry about their safety. Not only their safety when it comes to weather, but also I’m concerned that they’re on a busy intersection,” said Emily Bender, who lives a few houses down from McClanahan.
“It’s dangerous,” Lee Jones said. “What if somebody comes running through here and hits them with a car? Anything can happen. It’s in a dangerous spot right on the corner of a busy intersection.”
Jones mentioned the city removing a homeless encampment from the City Hall lawn last month. He said responsibility for the danger at Spring and Chippewa falls upon the Mayor Tishaura Jones and her administration.
“They wouldn’t put up with it in her neighborhood or certain other neighborhoods. Why does it have to be down here in our neighborhood?” he said.
Police have raised safety concerns, but the City of St. Louis has allowed the couple to stay since summer 2021. The couple does not speak English and have shied from FOX 2’s attempts to communicate.
“You’ll sometimes see vermin running over them. That’s not great. That’s also a big concern: just disease,” Bender said.
“I was also concerned because of the rats coming up and eating their food out of the storm drain that they’re going to get in my backyard and my dogs are going to get poisoned by whatever is living around this area,” McClanahan said.
Emails from city officials to residents the past month suggested action was imminent, with Executive Operations Director Nancy Cross saying, “we are pursuing possible solutions (to) hopefully move them permanently (with) a resolution by the beginning of November.” That email was dated Oct. 12.
Four days later, Alderwoman Daniela Velazquez (Ward 6) emailed two residents, “The city will continue to be in communication with you both.”
Since then, residents have heard nothing from Cross, Velazquez, or the mayor. City officials also did not respond to questions from FOX 2 on Wednesday.
