A class action lawsuit has been filed against St. Louis by an unhoused citizen who claims that the city has closed parks where she was staying.
Plaintiff Ranata Frank says she is currently experiencing homelessness and is staying in downtown St. Louis at the Market Street encampments, home to many unhoused citizens. She claims that she has been homeless since November 2019, when she moved to St. Louis from Peoria, Ill.
Frank states that she has worked for a temporary staffing agency, but could not keep her job due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. According to the class action lawsuit, she donates plasma twice a week, earning a $15 donation.
The plaintiff claims that she has consistently looked for shelter since she became homeless in November 2019. She asserts that she has signed up for a shelter bed while living in the Market Street encampments, but has still not been provided with one.
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Frank states that it is impossible for her to follow a “stay at home” order because she currently does not have a place to reside. She claims that she has to seek shelter in public places, which is in violation of public laws.
According to the class action lawsuit, the St. Louis issued an order to close tent encampments in public parks between Market and Chestnut Streets. She claims that individuals were ordered to remove their tents and other personal belongings by May 1, 2020.
Frank says that St. Louis has added 200 shelter beds since the outbreak of the coronavirus, but those extra beds only make up for the loss of shelter beds when shelters reduced their capacity to comply with social distancing guidelines put down by the state.
“Unhoused individuals in St. Louis have no choice but to seek shelter in public spaces, because the City of St. Louis has inadequate shelter space. Nevertheless, the City of St. Louis has ordered people living in parks along Market Street to vacate the premises, under threat of punishment,” the St. Louis class action lawsuit goes on to say.
The plaintiff claims that the defendant is violating the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, because St. Louis is depriving her of the freedom from cruel and unusual punishment.
The plaintiff also maintains that during the coronavirus pandemic, St. Louis has been struggling to maintain their shelter capacity. The lawsuit states that there are usually around 510 shelter beds available for the homeless in St. Louis, but because of social distancing guidelines, the number of shelter beds is now at 315.
On March 25, 2020, the St. Louis police department chief put out a directive stating that officers should not clear encampments during the spread of the coronavirus, which would be in accordance with CDC recommendations.
The plaintiff states that St. Louis police officers entered the encampments and threatened the residents with arrest if they did not disperse.
“Upon information and belief, despite other encampments existing throughout the City of St. Louis, SLMPD officers did not threaten members of other encampments with arrest if they did not disburse,” the St. Louis class action lawsuit states.
The plaintiff also alleges that an order was issued which required that unhoused citizens vacate the park and remove their tents and personal belongings by 10 a.m. on May 1, 2020. Frank states that the order indicates that unhoused individuals who seek shelter in the park are in violation of city ordinances.
In addition, Frank says that people sleeping in the encampments will be subject to arrest if they do not vacate the public parks, even though there are not enough shelter beds available for them, and that the order directly goes against CDC guidelines regarding encampments.
There are numerous questions of fact in this class action lawsuit, including: 1) whether St. Louis adequately planned to accommodate the homeless residents when it issued its Stay-At-Home order; 2) Whether the city planned to provide adequate shelter to accommodate the homeless residents when it issued the Stay-At-Home order; 3) whether the city relied on guidance from the CDC in planning and issuing the Stay-At-Home order; and 4) whether the defendant has threatened to punish homeless individuals who live in the Market Street encampments.
“The class seeks injunctive relief to ensure their constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment is upheld by preventing the City of St. Louis from forcibly removing them from the public park and threatening to punish them if they remain,” the St. Louis class action lawsuit says.
The plaintiff is represented by John Bonacorsi, Lee R. Camp, Maureen G. Hanlon, Jacki J. Langum, and Blake A. Strode of ArchCity Defenders Inc.
The St. Louis Homeless Class Action Lawsuit is Ranata Frank v. The City of St. Louis, Case No. 4:20-cv-00597-SEP, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of St. Louis.
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