The story of St. Louis’ most prominent homeless camp, Hopeville, never seems to end. They’ve been threatened by the city government, then moved, then threatened with removal once again…and now they’re being moved…again. There’s a pattern here we think, but it’s being covered up by one of those big homeless guy coats that holds in all the stink.

St. Louis city leaders say the homeless cannot continue to camp in their makeshift homes along the riverfront.

The city plans to dole out free apartments, complete with paid utilities, as part of its 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness.  City leaders say too many 911 calls, followed by a murder at the camp on Monday proves the homeless need a different kind of help.

So it’s finally come to this: Hopeville apartments. Of course some media outlets are all up in arms about how the apartments are being paid for with tax money and how that will probably make everyone just leave their house, quit their job and decided to be homeless to get a free apartment because smelling like piss and the McDonalds dumpster and living next to a crack head is really appealing to those of us with jobs.

The big question is, will the Hopeville residents take the city’s offer? If they don’t, they look to be moved yet again to locations unknown since the city seems to be finally putting its foot down about the issues happening in the infamous camp. The city really wants to take these guys in, and that’s commendable and a big responsibility, but we hope they know what they are doing here and have a plan to try to get the ones that really want the help, back on their feet. As for the others, just remember to not get them wet or ever feed them after midnight or that old mysterious chinese guy St. Louis bought the first homeless guy from will be all like “I told you so!” Whatever old chinese guy, it’s your own damn fault for being mysterious enough to make me want whatever oddity you’re selling, but vague enough that we don’t realize the consequences until it’s too late, shit gets crazy and then we finally think we got them all, but the next year comes and boom: Stupid sequel with Gremlins that talk.

via KMOV

St. Louis premiere homeless person shanty town Hopeville, which we’ve covered before, is under city pressure again. The city thinks the current Hopeville installation is a fire hazard after three tents burned last week.

In the fire last week, one tent caught fire, and witnesses said it spread to at least two others. A few propane tanks that were being stored in the first tent exploded. While a propane heater was being used in the tent, it was unclear how the fire started.

The heat from the fire was so intense that it melted part of a portable bathroom nearby and damaged a disabled Metro bus that is being used by some of the homeless to store clothes.

Though no injuries occurred, once again, the city is giving the evil eye to Hopeville of the incident. Also, if you have a bus, maybe the homeless could sleep in the bus and store your clothes in the tents. Just a thought.

“Since there was a fire, we really need to determine what can be done to make sure those folks don’t have a subsequent fire,” [Bill Siedhoff, director of the St. Louis Department of Human Services] said. “With the open fires that are burned in pits, an open flame like that and tents haphazardly strewn about, that presents a concern.”

If the city wanted to, they could pull their “fire hazard” red card and close the current Hopeville location down like they did a last April with the Tucker bridge location. Hopefully it won’t come to that.

Jeff Rainford, chief of staff for Mayor Francis Slay, said he is going to meet with the fire chief and Bryson this week to hear what they think.

“It’s not our intention to break up the place,” Rainford said. “With Hopeville, what we’ve said all along is, ‘No harm, no foul.’ If they’re not hurting anybody, more power to them.”

“…also a little fire now and then to burn off the stink isn’t a bad thing.” Nah, he didn’t say that. But could you imagine?! OMG.

via STLToday

Earlier this year we talked about Hopeville, the homeless camp downtown underneath the Tucker Boulevard tunnel until the city kicked them all out in May because it probably smelled a lot like pee and sadness, which is ok when we go to visit Grandma, but not when we walk down Tucker.

While Hopeville I is gone, as planned, Hopeville II was created so that there could be another really really sad place named something that sounds really really happy. Irony is awesome and St. Louis is full of it. Wellston is anything but “well”, Kingshighway, looks like a dog scrapped his poopy butt through St. Louis rather than a road for kings and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd is nothing but people getting shot all the time…wait, that one makes sense.

The very unofficial conglomeration of homeless at the Mississippi River floodwall near the Riverfront Trail was settled this past spring, after the city closed the Tucker Boulevard tunnel to make way for a street improvement project.

“We haven’t really gotten a lot of complaints about the people staying there, so we haven’t kicked them out,” said Bowlin. “It’s kind of a ‘live and let live’ agreement.”

So it sounds like the city is cool with this one for now and it seems like the people like living there, so good for them. Also, we just want to take this moment to say that we never have any change. Ever. Homeless people should really think about investing in a Square device.

Speaking of Hopeville, here’s a short video we found of an interview with a Hopeville I resident:

via STLToday

City officials met with Larry Rice and his army of homeless guys Tuesday about the downtown Hopeville Tunnel. The tunnel is an old railroad tunnel under Tucker Boulevard that has become a makeshift homeless shelter for those both downtown and downtrodden for some time now, and Reverend Larry Rice is even known to direct people it’s direction. However, the city says the conditions are “inhumane” and the tunnel needs to be destroyed.

“What we have here are really inhumane conditions,” Siedhoff said. “I find it shameful that Reverend Rice would actually direct people into conditions like this.”

The Rev. Larry Rice of New Life Evangelistic Center is the tunnel group’s biggest advocate. He wants city officials to give an acre of land to the founders of ‘Hopeville’ at least until they can find better accommodations.

For one, we can’t even imagine how an ancient railroad tunnel being lived in by tons of homeless people can be anything but a hellhole at this time, so though we haven’t been there, we see the city’s point on that one. But yes, that sucks for the homeless people shacking up in that tunnel that now have less than a month to get out. No one likes to move. You have to beg all your friends for boxes and then when you get enough boxes it just bums you out because you know you could totally make a kick ass fort with all these, but you have to use them to pack up plates and stuff instead. Then you have to hire a moving company or do the thing yourself which totally sucks either way. Plus if you get your friends to help, its like you’re their indentured servant forever afterwards because they are always going to be all like “Yeah, I could get the next round…but I did help you move that one time seven years ago.” Plus there is…wait. These people are homeless! What do ya got? The 14 coats you wear at once, all year-long and maybe a shopping cart full of cans. If you have much else, you really ought to be thinking about selling some of it and moving up in the world.

Rice later released a statement that though his goal of packing more homeless in to an abandoned tunnel might not be working out, his “Go break in to the cars of the 22 year olds that spend all weekend at the Landing” program is working great.

KSDK talked with a Hopeville inhabitant who said “If you want to help, do more than just badger us or talk down to us like all we want to do is just beg for what we want, ask for what…” Shut up homeless guy!

via KSDK

More: YouTube video of Hopeville