Mental Illness, Homelessness, & the Community Response
Lack of access to affordable preventive healthcare is often a determining factor for why some people initially fall into homelessness and then remain trapped in the cycle. For example, without regular healthcare, individuals suffering from serious and persistent mental illness have no options for effective treatment. Left untreated, the manifestations of their disease ravage their ability to function normally, hindering daily living skills and barring them from successful education and employment. Unable to obtain a degree or keep a job, ultimately these individuals have no way to provide for themselves or maintain stable housing, and, in some instances, turn to drugs or alcohol as a last resort, self-medicating in attempt to manage their disease or, simply, to survive life on the streets.
Growing up in poverty, this was the case for Viola, 50, who has suffered from severe chronic depression that went undiagnosed for most of her life. She had no regular healthcare, and as such, her illness prevented her from completing school, which, in turn, created a barrier to living wage employment. After struggling to get by for many years, she eventually became homeless and started using drugs to assuage the symptoms of her disease.
“Well, when I first became homeless it was in 2007 and I was on drugs and ended up going into rehab and got myself clean, then I went into a recovery home,” Viola said.
Still, with no education and no employment, she was unableto afford the cost of staying at the recovery home and had to leave. She sought refuge at Nancy Page Crisis Residence in Minneapolis, operated by People Incorporated, which provides residential mental health crisis stabilization to adults with mental illness who also might have chemical dependency problems. After having some of her most acute mental illness symptoms treated, Viola went to the Salvation Army’s Harbor Lights center and entered the emergency housing program.
“I didn’t like it when I came the first time,” she said. A friend offered her a couch tosleep on but the situation quickly deteriorated and she was forced to return to Salvation Army as opposed to living on the streets again.
“My second time here was hard and I cried many nights and many days. But I turned to God, he was the key to my answer, and I started getting into my bible studies more. I got humble and that’s when things started connecting for me. One day I came to Samantha [a housing case manager at Salvation Army] and asked if this was something she could do, to help me get into housing,” Viola said.
For Viola, this was the beginning of a long, trying process of transitioning to independent housing. Samantha worked with Viola to support her in connecting with other nonprofit service providers, filing any and all required paperwork, applying for appropriate benefits, and locating appropriate housing opportunities. This was made all the more difficult by the fact that, due to her mental illness, Viola never learned to read and write well.
“The challenges were rough. It was basically because I don’t know how to read, so my challenge was being able to get the paperwork and understand, or get someone to read thepaperwork to me and tell me if they were telling the truth about the paperwork. That was my issue of trust. My other challenge was basically just being lonely, not having nobody around me that I really knew, and that I could believe in. I went through a lot of obstacles where it seemed like I would never get housing but Samantha told me to hold on, that it would work out,” she said.
Despite a minor paperwork setback on the day of her move—which she was able to resolve with Samantha’s assistance—Viola was finally placed into housing after 3 long years of homelessness.
Viola is now living independently in an apartment in St. Louis Park, through assistance from Vail Place, a nonprofit agency in Hopkins that offers a subsidized supportive housing program for individuals with serious and persistent mental illness. Salvation Army, People Incorporated, and Vail Place all continue to provide her with comprehensive support services in order to ensure that she maintains stable housing.
“It was real hard, it was a struggle, but it was comfortable because the people made you feel like someone was here to help you out,” she said. “Housing has improved my life agreat deal. I’m happy now. I look forward to cleaning my apartment, being able to be on the phone, call my friends and let them know that I’m okay today, not somewhere hoping that I wake up. It means a lot to know that the program did work for me. Now I pray for other girls that they settle down and get humble like I had to get humble, to know that the program will work, you just can’t keep running from [it].”
In addition, Viola said that being in housing has drastically reduced the impact of mental illness and chronic depression on her daily life. She is working with another case manager to try to complete her schooling, and Samantha is helping her apply for Section 8 and public housing for when her 2-year period in Vail Place’s program ends.
“I hope in the future that I can keep my housing, that I will be able to get into school and complete school, and be able to graduate,” she said.
After 10 Years Living in Shelter, A Home of Her Own
The Currie Avenue Partnership (CAP)--a dynamic, innovative collaboration between the downtown faith community, the downtown business community, local nonprofit agencies, and local government--successfully housed 150 long-term homeless individuals with disabilities from publicly-funded shelter in less than 9 months. It has increased the ability of shelter staff to assist people who are living in shelter but don't have disabilities, as well as improved livability in downtown Minneapolis. Currently, the program model is also undergoing an expansion to support existing street outreach efforts to house people who are living on the streets or in other locations unfit for human habitation. Not only is CAP making better, more efficient use of taxpayer dollars, it is clearly changing and saving lives, as it did for Jacqueline, a formerly homeless denizen of Minneapolis.
Jacqueline lived at Sally’s Place—Salvation Army’s Harbor Light shelter for women—for 10 years. She would return, night after night, in need of a bed and a place to stay. During this period of long-term homelessness Jacqueline was diagnosed with breast cancer; she suffered, struggling to battle the disease and undergo chemotherapy while living without the comfort, safety and respite of a home of her own. Shortly before completing chemo, she was finally able to move into a new apartment through the assistance of the CAP program. Jacqueline then had a mastectomy and completed radiation treatment, which might not have been possible if she had remained homeless. She is now considered to be in full remission by her doctor and her daily life has greatly improved since obtaining permanent housing. Now that her cancer treatments are complete, she has begun to receive ongoing medical care with a primary physician. Despite facing the diagnosis of a thyroid condition, inflammatory arthritis in her feet and hands, and hypertension, Jacqueline reports that her new apartment is the nicest place she has ever lived and this is the happiest that her life has ever been.
26th Annual Homeless Memorial March
Hundreds of service providers, social workers, advocates,volunteers and concerned citizens attended the 26th Annual HomelessMemorial March on Thursday, December 16. The event is organized and hosted by Simpson Housing Services, which islocated in South Minneapolis.
Those who marched gathered at the HennepinCounty GovernmentCenter at 5pm and walked roughly 3miles in the cold weather from downtown Minneapolisto Simpson United MethodistChurch at 28th Streetand Nicollet Avenue. There they shared in a service that honoredthe memory of people throughout the state of Minnesota who had died in 2010 and whoselives had been affected by homelessness. Several of the service leaders lit candles while others read a list of126 names of people experiencing homelessness or formerly homeless who had diedover the course of the year. Althoughthe list was longer than the previous year—an indicator of the stagnant economycausing a rise in homelessness—it still only partially represented the actualnumber of people who passed away, as tracking the deaths of people experiencinghomelessness remains difficult. Once thelist had been read, audience members were provided the opportunity to sharethoughts about people whom they knew, who had died while homeless or formerlyhomeless. As people shared humorousanecdotes and tearful memories, it became clear that many lives had been deeplytouched by those who had passed.
“Home, it is said, is the place where when you go, [people]have to let you in, no matter what,” said Julie Manworren, Executive Directorof Simpson Housing Services, during the service. “No one should be without a place to go wherethey have to let you in, and no one should die because they do not have a placeto go where they have to let you in. That’s what we’re working to end.”
After the service closed with a moving Native American drumrequiem, attendees and shelter guests alike gathered in Simpson’s shelter inthe Church basement to share a meal together and further reflect on the impactof homelessness on individual lives, as well as the greater community as awhole.
The Homeless Memorial March continues to stand as atestament to the community’s desire to end homelessness and improve the livesof all who experience such hardship in their lives, even in the face of suchdifficult economic times. It is anopportunity to begin to heal, to reflect, and to re-energize in the effort toend homelessness in Minneapolis, Hennepin County,and across the state of Minnesota.
Minneapolis & Hennepin County Host 10th Project Homeless Connect
On December 13th, 2010, Hennepin County and the City of Minneapolis held their 10thbiannual Project Homeless Connect (PHC), with over 900 volunteers and 300 service providers helping more than 1,900 individuals experiencing homelessness access vital resources. Since its inception in 2005, the Minneapolis-Hennepin County PHC has become one of the most effective, large-scale tools for helping prevent and end homelessness in Hennepin County, and is recognized nationally as one of the most comprehensive events of its kind. It continues to become more efficient and effective with each successful event, enhancing the greater community's ability to address the complex barriers that face people experiencing homelessness, and also raising wider public awareness about the challenge to end homelessness.
Whether it is an important physical health exam or the simple comfort of a hot meal, the comprehensive continuum of wraparound services at each Project Homeless Connect is what makes the event both unique and successful. For the majority of people experiencing homelessness, obtaining necessary resources can be a daunting task, as services are located across the Twin Cities metro area, and the cost of transportation is a difficult impediment. While there are not enough affordable, adequate housing resources for all who need them, the multiplicity of services available at PHC helps to bring many people several steps closer to finding permanent, stable housing.
At the 10th Project Homeless Connect, 791 people received housing search assistance, 346 people received dental care and assessments, 282 people obtained legal consultation, 333 obtained reading and prescription glasses, 105 people created new voicemail accounts, 90 had chiropractic exams, 73 had mental health assessments, 52 were screened for various forms of cancer, and 48 got immunizations. These are a general sample of the plethora of services and resources that people were able to connect with over the course of the day.
What keeps volunteers and guests coming back to each event, aside from the many available services, are the personal connections that volunteers and guests are able to make together. This is an essential part of thecommunity-building process, as both volunteers and guests leave at the end of the day feeling better connected to the community as a whole.
For more information, or to volunteer at the next event, please visit www.homelessconnectminneapolis.org.
Ending Youth Homelessness Through Education
YouthLink, a youth serving agency located in downtown Minneapolis, began a “Back to School Week” project two years ago that has quickly become a success for both the agency and the young adults it works to empower. Part of the agency’s Life Transitions program, “Back to School Week” is led by YouthLink clients and focuses on galvanizing homeless youth and homeless and highly mobile students to return to school, both secondary and college, and remain driven in obtaining their education.
In advance of “Back to School Week,” a group of YouthLink clients and the Life Transitions program staff watched Freedom Writers, a film starring Hilary Swank that is based on the true story of a young teacher who worked to empower underprivileged and at-risk students in Long Beach, California.
“We watched the movie together and were very moved,” said Devin Clarkson, a Life Transitions Case Manager at YouthLink.
Inspired by the movie, the group did some research and discovered the Freedom Writers Foundation, which promotes acceptance and innovation in teaching methods across the country. The foundation also operates a program that sends original members of the Freedom Writers class to speaking engagements. The youth decided that having an original Freedom Writer come to Minneapolis to speak would be the perfect culmination to their “Back to School Week,” and a powerful way to underscore the importance of education in improving lives. They researched potential grants that would allow them to pay for a Freedom Writer to speak and found that the Minneapolis Public School (MPS) system has a youth-run grant program called HYPE (Helping Youth Promote Empowerment), which funds educational and personal development opportunities for other young adults. After successfully writing and winning the grant, they presented their idea to the Freedom Writers Foundation, which agreed to send Darius Garrett to speak at the end of “Back to School Week.” Garrett was also a character portrayed in the film.
The speaking event was held at The Fair School in downtown Minneapolis and was open to the public, although the emphasis for attendance was placed on youth from YouthLink’s drop-in center, as well as homeless and highly mobile students throughout the Minneapolis Public School system. It was a great success. Garrett highlighted the importance of education and how the classroom changed his life, among many other profound experiences he shared, Devin Clarkson said.
“He was very engaging and his situation was poignant to what the youth we work with have gone through,” Clarkson said. “As a formerly homeless youth himself, [Garrett] captivated their attention and a lot of [them] really opened up as a result of him speaking.”
Also partially as a result of “Back to School Week,” YouthLink is now partnering with MPS’ We Want You Back program to help re-engage homeless youth with the school system. YouthLink and the Life Transitions program will now be a partner for GED, tutoring, and re-engagement programs.
YouthLink is also the site of a new Minneapolis-Hennepin County Youth OpportunityCenter, which will offer comprehensive, wraparound services for youth year-round. The Opportunity Center is set to open officially later this year.
Homeless Is My Address, Not My Name
Ask several people to describe someone who is experiencing homelessness and their answers will likely be quite similar, although there will inevitably be some slight variation to the specifics. For most members of our society, the face of homelessness is a person standing on a street corner, under a highway overpass, or sitting on the steps of a nearby place of worship, “flying a sign” that pleads for money, food, work, or help in any available form. This is certainly the most visible aspect of homelessness but it is far from the entire truth. People who experience homelessness come from many different backgrounds. They have differing ethnicities and cultures. Some have mental illness and thus struggle with chemical dependency as a way to mitigate their symptoms, as they have no access to insurance and appropriate medical and mental health care. Many have husbands and wives and children of their own. And, in what may be a surprise to people largely unfamiliar with homelessness, many people who are experiencing it have jobs and are working members of the community. Yet, what every single one of these individuals has in common with one another, and with the rest of society, is the fact that they are human beings. They have feelings and emotions. They laugh and cry, they struggle and succeed. They are fearful and courageous. They are full of dreams, gratitude, love, and hope. They have deeply moving stories of their own.
On Wednesday, September 15th, in partnership with The Family Housing Fund and Heading Home Hennepin, St. Stephen’s Human Services celebrated “Homeless Is My Address, Not My Name”, an audio-visual art exhibit featuring photographs by artists Larry LaBonte and Kris Drake, and first person narratives of people experiencing homelessness in Minneapolis and Hennepin County. Hosted at Le Meridien Chambers Hotel Burnet Gallery, the exhibit is the result of an ongoing oral history project conducted by St. Stephen’s with the goal of documenting the lives of some of the community’s most forgotten and ignored citizens, and changing perceptions about who experiences homelessness and what it means to live without a home. Nearly 200 people attended the celebration, including staff from Senator Al Franken’s office, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, Hennepin County Commissioner Gail Dorfman, and several members of the Minneapolis Downtown Council and the Downtown Congregations to End Homelessness’ leadership committee.
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Several organizations were presented with awards honoring their support of the greater community’s movement to end homelessness, including the Downtown Congregations to End Homelessness, the Minneapolis Downtown Council, the Minneapolis Police Department 1st Precinct, the Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District, and several private donors. Once attendees had time to view the artwork and listen to some of the first person stories, several leaders in the community movement to end homelessness spoke about the exhibit and this collective effort.
“This entire endeavor [to end homelessness] is a work of art and it is only through art and artistic sensibility that we can have the healing our community needs,” said Tom Fulton, Executive Director of The Family Housing Fund.
Mikkel Beckman, Executive Director of St.Stephen’s Human Services concurred.
“When we come to know people we begin to care about them and one of the unique aspects of this exhibit is that you have the opportunity to be in relationship with people you don’t normally get to relate to,” he said. “Tonight we celebrate the belief that we will get through this if we don’t retreat from each other, we celebrate the belief in the power of art to change the hearts and minds of the people in this world, and we celebrate the hope we have for one another.”
A great success, the exhibit will begin traveling to gallery spaces at local businesses and agencies that have played integral roles in helping to end homelessness in Minneapolis and Hennepin County. Further updates on its location will be made available on this website in the future. For more information about the exhibit and the oral history of homelessness project, please click here.
Panhandling: A Community Response
This scene may feel uncomfortably familiar: a car slows to a stop at a central intersection beneath a highway overpass. Outside, a disheveled, destitute individual holds a sign that reads “Homeless anything helps God Bless.” Perhaps the driver lowers the car window and gives the individual a couple of dollars, perhaps not.
Chances are most people have experienced an incident similar to this at least once in their lives. However, in all likelihood, it happens to people who live and work in urban areas quite regularly. Whether it’s more passive, such as a person “flying a sign” on the side of the road, or aggressive, such as someone approaching people waiting at a bus stop to ask for money, panhandling is one of the most visible indicators of poverty and homelessness in our community. In Minneapolis, particularly downtown, panhandling has become a more prevalent livability problem, in large part due to the impact of the housing crisis and the recession. A recent Downtown Improvement District survey found that panhandling is the number one occurrence that causes people who live and work downtown to feel unsafe. Panhandling and homelessness are complex social afflictions that occur as a result of the failure of mainstream systems and public institutions to maintain a functioning safety net for people in need. As such, these problems require a community-wide commitment to be justly resolved.
On the evening of August 23, 2010, St. Stephens’ Human Services Zamya Theater Project and the Downtown Congregations to End Homelessness co-hosted “Panhandling: A Community Response” at the Basilica of St. Mary. Residents throughout Minneapolis were invited to the open forum which focused on one essential question—“What is the real problem with panhandling?” A diverse group of nearly 200 people attended the event, from community leaders to concerned citizens to people experiencing homelessness.
“This is an important process of community dialogue,” said Zamya Theater Project founder Lecia Grossman at the start of the forum. “It’s not about solving the problem tonight but sparking communication that leads to motivated action.”
Facilitated by short skits depicting various incidences of panhandling, attendees engaged in a lively discussion about the issues over the course of roughly 2 hours. As people were forced to question their assumptions about poverty, panhandling andhomelessness, what eventually became clear, based on the statements of many attendees, is that there simply isn’t one overarching solution to these problems.
“The problem is we don’t know what to do when approached, it’s intimidating,” said one person.
“[Panhandling] is only a short term fix for bigger issues,” said another.
“Lack of access to healthcare and jobs forces people to panhandle,” said another.
As the discussion continued, people’s focus emphasized the larger systemic malfunctions that lead to poverty, panhandling and homelessness, such as inadequate minimum wages, dearth of employment opportunities, the high cost of housing, and lack of education.
Although there were no specific solutions, as Lecia Grossman indicated would be the case at the start, the forum remained a strong success. It achieved the intent of gathering people together to engage with the context of the problems, provoke open, insightful thought and discussion, and galvanize effort. Such involvement is and always will be essential for motivating community action to end homelessness at a system-wide level, and a second forum to further engagement is likely to be held in the near future.
For information on current initiatives to address panhandling, please visit www.giverealchange.org to learn more and to donate to programs that help people out of the cycles of homelessness and into permanent housing.
The Merits of Housing First
People who are long-term homeless are too often consideredby the general public as impossible to house, touted as evidence thatpermanently ending homelessness is impractical. A recently adopted best practice model in Hennepin County,however, has proven this assertion decidedly wrong. The "Housing First" model has shown, time andagain, that not only is it feasible to end homelessness for people who havebeen living on the streets or in shelters for years, even decades, but it makeseconomic sense, as these individuals cost taxpayers millions of dollars in multiple,expensive public services while they continue to languish without homes.
A relatively new human service model, Housing First operatesunder the premise that placing people into housing before attempting to providerehabilitative services allows the individual a better chance both atsuccessfully maintaining housing and being rehabilitated. Previous program models typically requiredparticipants to alter their behavior patterns before being allowed totransition into housing. For example, aperson with chemical dependency would be required to become sober before receivingassistance in obtaining a home. However,without the stability of a safe, dignified place to live, it is exceedinglydifficult for a person to overcome their specific barriers. Thus many people remain trapped in thehomelessness cycle, unable to develop the skills necessary to escape their circumstances. Housing First has changed this and the resultshave been encouraging, as hundreds of formerly homeless residents in Hennepin County have obtained and maintainedhousing with assistance from the program.
An, a refugee in his mid-40s who suffers from persistent mentalillness, had been staying at Catholic Charities' downtown Minneapolis shelterfor more than 7 years since migrating to the United States. During that time, he was unable to work andwas not connected with benefits due to severe mental illness and poor Englishlanguage skills. He previously lost allhis identification, including his immigration papers. After several years of unsuccessful attempts byCatholic Charities staff to engage him, outreach worker John Petroskas offeredto assist An in accessing General Assistance, a state program that providesincome to people with disabilities who are unable to work. With additional helpfrom the Multicultural Assistance unit at Century Plaza,An was able to begin receiving the benefits for which he was eligible.
Although he had received help from Catholic Charities andmade several steps forward in his life, An was still hesitant to enter the HousingFirst program as a result of deep-seated insecurities rooted in his mentalillness, as well as the institutionalization that often occurs to people whohave spent many years of their life in shelter. However, after John showed An some photographs of housing opportunities,An felt comfortable enough to make the decision to move from shelter toindependent living. After the move, Johnhelped connect An with a psychiatrist and he began taking medication for hismental illness. He also saw a doctor for the first time in many years and begantreatment for a serious medical illness. An then agreed to apply for SSI, and he wasquickly approved with John's support. Aprofessional payee now handles his SSI benefits, which are sufficient to pay fullrent without assistance from Catholic Charities. An was able to replace his immigrationdocuments, obtain a new state ID and social security card, and turned in anapplication for public housing, for which he is currently on the waitinglist. His mental health symptoms havebeen much improved during his time in the Housing First program. The HousingFirst team will continue to work with An for as long as he desires, even afterhe eventually moves into public housing.
"People who knew him when he was homeless are quitesurprised by how much his life has improved, and how quickly," said John. "He is really a great guy and it has been funto watch him come out of the fog of homelessness and rejoin the broadercommunity. I am hopeful things will continue to go well for him."
The Complexities of Family Homelessness
One-third of all women without a home in Minnesota are victims of abuse. They often flee their homes because of violence inflicted upon them, or for fear of violence being turned on their children.
This was the distressing situation in which Christine Ramos found herself when her husband developed severe chemical dependency issues. Until that point in the family's life together, all had been well. A mother of three-2 sons and 1 daughter-and self-described hard worker, Christine owned a small pizzeria located above a downtown Minneapolis pub. But financial troubles that were the inevitable result of her husband's alcoholism caused her to have to shut the restaurant down.
"He was spending money in ways he shouldn't," she said. Thus, with their main source of income gone, further financial difficulties began to force the family to choose between purchasing necessities like food and transportation, or paying rent. Initially her husband was able to make a deal with the property owner that allowed him to work for rent. Yet as it became clear that substance abuse was drastically impairing his abilities, the owner changed his mind. All the while, as circumstances continued to worsen, her husband's mood swings and irresponsible behavior quickly transformed into repeated acts of domestic abuse. Christinewas faced with the appalling choice of remaining at her tumultuous, violent house or escaping her husband's violent behavior for the uncertainty of homelessness. For the safety of her three young children, she decided to leave and take them with her, rather than allow them to be put at risk of physical injury.
"I never would've imagined this 10 years ago," shesaid. "But I had to take matters into my own hands."
With nowhere to turn, for some time Christine tried staying with family in St. Paul. Unable to leave her school age children behind, however, it was impossible for her to remain at family members' households for long. After hearing of Women's Advocates, Inc., a St. Paul family shelter and support service agency, she was able to move herself and her three children into the agency's emergency shelter. Yet this situation also proved less than ideal, as the children were far removed from their respective schools, and Christine did not want to add further disruption to their already uprooted sense of wellbeing. In effort to best help Christine and her children, Women's Advocates, Inc. connected her with Mary's Place, a transitional family shelter operated by Sharing and Caring Hands, in downtown Minneapolis.
Upon first moving into an apartment at Mary's Place, Christine was taken aback by how many working families were staying at the shelter.
"I kept thinking to myself, ‘How can these people be working and still be homeless,'" she said.
Over time, she began to realize how many families were in similar situations to her own, and she cherished the sense of support and community that Mary's Place offered.
Christine and her children stayed at Mary's Place for 3 months. While her children were at school during the day, she was able to work with staff on regaining self-support skills and moving her life forward. At the end of her stay, her family was one of several chosen to receive financial housing support from the Pohlad Family Foundation. As a result, they were able to move into a place of their own and have been staying there since, through the support of the foundation.
"As a single mother I don't know how I could do it with 3 kids without the support of a subsidy," she said. "I'm so grateful for that."
Now that she has been able to reacquire safety and stability for herself and her children, she is striving toward a job that will allow her to remain self-sufficient and care for her kids. Currently she is studying full-time for a medical administrative degree at the Minnesota School of Business, earning a 3.55 GPA, and looking for part-time work.
"I need a solid career. I don't want to work for such a low wage and never see my children," shesaid. She also recognizes how far she has come, both as a result of her own determination, as well as the assistance of others.
"[Mary's Place] helped immensely," she said. "The advocates worked really hard on our specific goals and always provided a lot of resources. There is a sense of spirituality and security there, and it creates an attitude of ‘Don't give up'."
Christine and her children have clearly taken this to heart.
New Downtown Youth Opportunity Center Breaks Ground
On Thursday, April 29, 2010, YouthLink, a human servicesnonprofit agency in downtown Minneapolis foradolescents and young adults who are experiencing homelessness or at-risk ofbecoming homeless, celebrated the groundbreaking for a new Youth OpportunityCenter that will be builtonto their existing facility.
More than three years in the making, the Youth OpportunityCenter is one of twoseparate buildings that will be constructed this year. The other center will be for adults and willbe at Catholic Charities Branch 3 facility. The Opportunity Centers are an innovative, important new model forservice delivery that was developed for Heading Home Hennepin.
"We are entering a new phase in service delivery," saidYouthLink's Board of Directors Chair Freddie Davis English. "The new opportunity center will becomprehensive from front to back, and after years of visioning, planning andeffort, this day culminates in the opening of new doors. Youth in our community deserve more-they areour future and they are the center of our focus here [at YouthLink]."
Based on Project Homeless Connect, the Opportunity Centerswill function as one-stop-shop service centers where wraparound resources andservices will be located, making it as easy and effective as possible forpeople experiencing homelessness or at-risk of becoming homeless to obtain whatthey need in order to escape poverty. Inthe past, information and services typically have been spread across multiplebuildings, agencies and departments, creating added barriers for people withlimited resources to make progress toward self-sufficiency. These new centers, which will be open 5 daysper week, year round, will change that, allowing people to accomplish in ashorter timeframe what might normally take weeks, months, or even years tocomplete.
"This is more than just bricks and mortar, and it's not allabout YouthLink" said Heather Huseby, the agency's Executive Director. "The remarkable thing about this community isthat we don't forget those who are most often overlooked [by largersociety]. It's about increasing accessand connection to services and resources so that we can help young peopledevelop the tools for self-sufficiency. It's about working together to create systemic change."
Lester, a young adult who has already spent much timelearning and growing at YouthLink, spoke about why he was thankful for the newopportunity center.
"I come here [to YouthLink] every day because of the people. They're great and there's so much help here,and there isn't much of anything like this where I come from," he said.
Hennepin County Commissioners Peter McLaughlin and GailDorfman offered their praise and support, as well.
"We've made a commitment in this community to eliminatehomelessness," said Commissioner McLaughlin. "We've got a moral obligation to ensure young people have a chance andwe're doing this work in a smarter, better, more effective way, all in the faceof a recession and a loss of state resources. This is a great model we're using."
"I'm so proud we've come this far," said Commissioner Dorfman. "This is the perfect place [for theopportunity center] because kids trust it, feel safe even when vulnerable, andthey feel valued. My hopes for this newfacility are that it will mean an end to these young adults' fears andstruggles, and it will rekindle their own hopes and dreams."
If you are interested in learning more about the new Youth OpportunityCenter or would like todonate to the project's capital campaign, please visit www.youthlinkmn.org.
YouthLink Job Fair
On Wednesday, March 10th, YouthLink, anadolescent and young adult social service agency in downtown Minneapolis, hosted its 3rd biannualjob fair for youth. The purpose of theevent is to provide YouthLink's clients with access to the appropriate resources,opportunities and connections for obtaining gainful employment. Providing a fun, comfortable atmosphere foryoung adults from unstable households to learn about workplace behavior andattitudes, as well as the process of searching for and successfully obtaining ajob, YouthLink's job fair assists at-risk adolescents in developing necessaryself-support and independent living skills.
"We have great space for this event," said Sheena Davis, acase manager at YouthLink. "Wecollaborate really well with other youth supportive service agencies andemployers, and it's easy for us to get the youth to attend because of ourdowntown location."
60 to 80 young adults typically attend each job fair. They have the chance to speak withrepresentatives from a wide variety of organizations, including vendors,providers, schools and employers. Therewere 18 separate organizations that had tables at the job fair on March 10th,including Minneapolis Community and TechnicalCollege, Job Corps, TwinCities Rise, Avenues for Homeless Youth, Hope Street, the Minneapolis Park &Recreation Board, HIRED, Project for Pride in Living, and the Mall of America,to name several.
Barb Thees, a staff member at the South MinneapolisWorforce Center,has hosted a table at each of the events thus far and finds it to be ameaningful opportunity for the youth in attendance.
"We have a close relationship with YouthLink," Theessaid. "I'm here twice per month to dosmall scale workforce trainings and help with workforce readiness. [The job fair] is a great way to provideresources to youth in need."
Mock interviews were an important tool provided at theevent, allowing the young adults to practice the rigors of an actual jobinterview without the pressure and stress. Many of them had never before had this key life experience. Another highlight of the evening included aworkplace fashion show, during which several YouthLink clients modeledappropriate workplace attire. Withhip-hop music setting the rhythm, the jovial teenagers displayed outfits thatranged from business casual to formal suits. A mobile clothing closet was available as well, so that those who neededwork clothes were able to obtain them at no cost.
Brad Trendle, a representative from UPS, has been at two jobfairs and plans to continue tabling at them.
"It's a good crowd for what jobs we offer-a good fitage-wise, particularly in terms of part-time jobs we have, and we offerstudents $3,000 in school assistance," he said. "I really like this event. Itexplains what it means to be professional and shows what one needs to do toobtain employment."
The next YouthLink job fair will occur this comingfall. For more information aboutYouthLink and its programs, visit www.youthlinkmn.org.
From Crisis to Stability: Helping Youth Achieve Housing and Independence
ReRe first experienced life without a home when she was only16 years old. She is 21 now. She was homeless for 6 years, essentially throughouther entire adolescence.
ReRe left home because it was an unstable, unsafe place tobe. At the time, both of her parentswere undergoing troubling periods in their own lives. Their personal struggles permeated the homeenvironment, filling it with daily conflict and hurtful misunderstandings. Open communication and support, the pillarsof any healthy home, were all but non-existent. Thus, she left because she nolonger wished to live in circumstances she felt were detrimental to her owngrowth and well-being.
"I was looking for freedom [from the negativity] and decidedto just leave," ReRe said.
After departing, ReRe couch-hopped with friends at first butended up spending 11 months in a group home. Then she returned to her parents' house, but only briefly, as thesituation there had not improved. Withnowhere else to go, she was forced to stay in shelters rather than risk thedangers of street life.
Over the course of her 6 years of homelessness, she workedwith many youth non-profit agencies to start building stability. At 19, while staying at Hope Street, a youth shelter operated byCatholic Charities, ReRe successfully graduated from high school and begantaking classes at MCTC. Still, sherefused to return to her parents' house and thus remained homeless. As a result, she continued to struggle andwas unable to complete her courses at MCTC. Yet she remained determined.
"I always knew I was capable. I never gave up hope-I didn't want to be astatistic," she said.
Eventually she was connected with Project Solo, atransitional housing program at Freeport West. Project Solo teaches independent living skills, assists in employmenttraining, placement and income management, and will subsidize program members'rent for up to 2 years. At the same timeshe also began working for Elpis Enterprises-which produces to the t-shirts forProject Homeless Connect-through a connection made while at YouthLink, andshortly thereafter obtained jobs with two City of Minneapolis park board programs.
On June 12, 2009, barely 2 months after her 21stbirthday, ReRe moved into her own apartment with the support of Project Solo, andshe has been living there since.
She doesn't regret her 6-year ordeal, though, despite itshardships and many nights spent wondering what might come next.
"I wouldn't trade the experience. I'm glad of whom I am. I'm wiser. I grew up a lot and learned how to take care of myself. I can take a step back now and beappreciative of where I am and how far I've come."
She also realizes, now, how much individuals do need thehelp and support of others.
"Without the agencies and programs I worked with I wouldn'tbe here. I got a lot of help from a lotof great people. They all provided asafe, stable place to be."
ReRe says she is closer with her mother now than she everwas. Her new goals for the futureinclude a Business Management degree of the University of Phoenix,and, ultimately, a career as a paralegal.
Frequent Users Service Enhancement Program
The long-term homeless population is, by nature, one of themost difficult to house. The cycle ofliving on the streets and in shelter for many years often results in theinstitutionalization of these individuals, who have experienced homelessnessfor extended periods of their lives. Manywill cycle between expensive government systems for support, systems thatultimately do not address the core housing barriers for people who arelong-term homeless. Thus, thedevelopment and implementation of innovative new service programs to removethose barriers has been essential in achieving the community goal of endinghomelessness in HennepinCounty.
In 2007, HennepinCounty completed a studythat identified and investigated the 266 most frequent users of shelters, jail,prison, the workhouse and detox. Those 266 individuals combinedfor a total of approximately 35,000 nights spent at various institutions overthe last 5 years, costing tax-payers and local government millions ofdollars. Partnering with the county inresponse to the study, the Corporation for Supportive Housing and St. Stephen'sHuman Services in South Minneapolis created the Frequent User Service Enhancement (FUSE) program, which beganin 2008.
Based on a nationally recognized model developed by theCorporation for Supportive Housing in NewYork City, the FUSE program coordinates between shelters,jail, the workhouse and detox to provide housing with services to individualswho have been caught in the homelessness cycle for the majority of theiradolescent and adult lives.
"The goal is to both end homelessness for these people aswell as reduce costs on the community," said FUSE Program Director KristenBrown.
The program functions by coordinating with the necessary institutionsin order to identify the most appropriate candidates. Once the candidate is identified, programstaff complete an intake procedure and begin searching for proper housing forthe client.
"These are individuals who have fallen out of systems sincethey were age 16, roughly, and have typically spent an average of 8 yearsexperiencing homelessness," said Brown. "They have a high level of need that hasn't been met in many years butwe work to house them regardless of any issues or barriers they might befacing."
Brown also noted that this particular population has highpercentages of chemical dependency and mental illness, two of the mostdifficult barriers to address in any person experiencing homelessness. Once a person in the program is successfullyhoused, however, they receive intensive support services to ensure they keeptheir housing and are able to progress toward self-reliance, as well as treattheir mental illness and chemical dependency issues.
To date, since its inception since 2008, FUSE has housed 51 peopleand has a total of 44 long-term homeless individuals currently engaged with theprogram, with the goal of increasing this number to 50 before the end ofDecember. A recent Hennepin Countyevaluation ofthe first 6 FUSE participants found that in the year prior to be being housed they cost taxpayers a combinedtotal of $95,000 in services, whereas in the year post-housing they cost atotal of only $13,000, a reduction of $16,000 per person. The number of arrests for participantsfollowing housing has also decreased significantly.
"Success for this population is incremental but while we'vebeen working we have seen huge reductions in systems use. Although these are people who will continue toneed support after a couple of years,their quality of life has improved-they aren't on the streets, they're not gettingarrested as often and they're not in shelter," Brown concluded.
Clearly, the result is a healthier community for all.
Nicollet Square Groundbreaking
On November 12, after three long years of planning, hardwork, and determination, a dedicated team of community leaders-including StateSenator Linda Berglin, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, Hennepin County CommissionerGail Dorfman, Reverend Tim Hart-Andersen of Westminster Presbyterian Church,and Reverend Jim Gertmenian of Plymouth Congregational Church-held a groundbreakingceremony for Nicollet Square, a new housing and retail development for Minneapolisand Hennepin County youth.
Created through the efforts of the Housing 150 Initiative, acollaborative group between Westminster Presbyterian and Plymouth Congregational, Nicollet Square is a progressive model ofhousing, comprehensive support services, vocational consultation, andentry-level employment. Once thefacility opens, YouthLink, Cookie Cart and HIRED will be the three main on-siteservice providers. The building will be located at the intersection of 37th Streetand Nicollet Avenue,and provides housing and support services for young adults aging out of fostercare or transitioning out of homelessness. The 42-unit complex will feature reduced rent, on-site offices forsupport staff, and an innovative retail component designed to create employmentopportunities for tenants. The overarchinggoal is to work with tenants in order to help them become productive,self-sufficient members of the community.
"It's remarkable what we've done here," Rev. Hart-Andersensaid while speaking to the ceremony's standing-room only audience. "All of us are dreamers and we're giving theopportunity to pursue dreams to those who otherwise wouldn't have one."
Mayor Rybak concurred.
"Think about a single teenager who has had to leave her homebecause of family instability. Thinkabout her options that first night she becomes homeless-where she can obtainfood, shelter and other commodities-and what it would be like to spend just onenight on the street. Then, think aboutthat young girl's experience a year from now [after Nicollet Square is complete]. As she heads out on her journey, she willhave this opportunity. All I can say isthank you for being part of the beloved community of Minneapolis."
In addition to making strides toward the community goal ofending homelessness, NicolletSquare will also help revitalize Minneapolis' Kingfield neighborhood byfilling the site of a vacant funeral home and a large parking lot, bringing arenewed sense of kinship and safety to the area. It is a testament to the progress that can bemade when individuals come together to help improve the lives of their fellowcommunity members, even in the face of an unstable economic climate.
"NicolletSquare is a model of interagency cooperation andcollaboration," said Dr. Heather Huseby, a counselor at YouthLink. "It's a future for young people who oftenremain hidden and vulnerable."
Youth Connect
On Monday, October 5th, St. Mary's Greek OrthodoxChurch in Uptown, Minneapolishosted the third annual Youth Connect event. A cutting-edge service delivery model, based on the nationallyrecognized Project Homeless Connect event that occurs biannually in Minneapolis and St.Paul, the most recent Youth Connect once again helped hundredsof homeless and at-risk young adults aged 14 to 23 find and obtain necessarysupport services.
Youth Connect brings together more than 60 agencies in onelocation in order to deliver a full range of services to young adults who are at-riskof or currently experiencing homelessness, including employment, education,health services, basic needs, legal services and more. Over the course of an afternoon, attendeesare able to obtain everything from hair cuts to legal aid counseling, all in ayouth-friendly environment. Providersassemble groups of tables based on the services they offer and youth are freeto engage with any and all providers whose services they require. There is also a "Free Store" which hasmaterial goods and necessities, such as hygiene supplies, for attendees totake.
"Our goal is to offer a safe venue with a large variety ofservices. These services are offered to assist youth in their healthydevelopment and growth. The collaborative effort strives to create contemporarypartnerships among nonprofit organizations, private foundations, youth, andfaith based communities," said Sandra Anderson, who works in ministrydevelopment at St. Mary's Church and is one of the events co-coordinators.
The event did just that.
"I think it's good how this event is a safe space [for theyouth]," said Jenny Backus, an advocate at the Rape Crisis Center. "This is my first time here and I think theyreally organized it well; it's all encompassing-they've got everyone in oneplace. A high percentage of homelessyouth are sexually assaulted or fleeing abuse, or engaging in survival sex, soit's been great being able to get people connected [to our services] who maynot have known about us before."
Dan McGuire, an admissions counselor with Job Corps,concurred.
"It's a good set up; this has been a great networking tool,"he said. "[Youth Connect] has the mostvariety of resources for youth; it's hard to find programs that target [the agegroup] appropriately but also provide a range of opportunities."
Rapid Exit: Part 2
For Deborah Morris, who experienced homelessness severaltimes over the course of her life, even more difficult times came when herpartner of 17 years fell ill. As aresult of the extended sickness, Morris and her partner were evicted from theirhousing due to the high cost of necessary medical expenses. Not long after the eviction, while Morris wasliving in a shelter, her partner died. Despondent over the loss, she quickly fell into the cycle of living inshelter and on the street.
"There was no one watching my back [anymore]," shesaid. "I was all alone on the streets."
For some time, Morris bounced from shelter to street andback to shelter, attempting to get by without the person with whom she hadspent nearly two decades of her life. The physical and mental struggle, however, began to take a serious toll,and she realized she needed to seek help in order to change her situation forthe better.
"I'd been in and out of shelters for too long," shesaid. "But I never lost hope, I never dothat."
Morris was screened into Hennepin County'sRapid Exit program, where she was connected to Amy Stroman, a Rapid Exit Specialistat Simpson Housing Services. Rapid Exitis a national homelessness prevention best practice that focuses on obtaininghousing as quickly as possible for individuals and families who have recentlybecome homeless. Within one month Morriswas re-housed, and has remained in that housing since, even painting theapartment herself so as to make it more her own.
"Different people need different systems of support," Morrissaid. "There are so many levels ofhomelessness and some people need more help than I did. I wasn't feeling very confident. I just needed a boost and [Rapid Exit] wasthe support I needed at that point. Theprogram helped with the money [for housing] that I was short."
Through it all she was also able to keep her job. Now that she has been able to restore stabilityto her daily life, Morris, who at one point was a member of the Health Care forthe Homeless committee, wants to return to the same shelters where she stayedin order to help other women in similar situations regain control of theirlives.
"I was pretty shaky a year ago but I'm doing okay. I'm happy where I am and it doesn't feel likeI'm alone, I have a safety net. It'sunlikely now that I'll ever be homeless again," she said.
Rapid Exit: Part 1
Weaving a safety net that prevents individuals and familiesfrom becoming homeless is essential for realizing an end to homelessness in ourcommunity. Hennepin County'sFamily Homeless Prevention and Rapid Exit Program is a nationally recognizedbest practice that prevents homelessness when possible and quickly re-housespeople if they do become homeless.
For one individual, Samuel, working with the rapid exitprogram was the first step in setting his life back on track. Samuel grew up with a passion for rhythm andblues music, and wanted nothing more than to spend his life playing the musiche loves. Yet, struggling for years withmental health concerns that stood as a barrier to stability in employment andhousing, Samuel moved through several Midwestern cities attempting to make aliving as a musician and taking part-time jobs for supplemental income. After he stopped taking medication asprescribed-the first, he admitted, in a series of "bad decisions"-he lost hisapartment in Indianapolis. Soon after, he traveled to Minneapolis and began staying alternately attwo shelters.
While cycling through the shelter system, Samuel wasconnected to Melea Flicek, a Catholic Charities rapid re-housingspecialist. "But I was not beingaccountable [at first]," Samuel said, again due to the debilitating effects ofhis mental health.
Melea, however, was able to convince him to begin seeing atherapist, which helped inspire the self-confidence to believe he could makehis way out of homelessness. Workingwith Melea, Samuel was then able to obtain public housing and eventuallysecured an apartment of his own, where he has been living for the past severalmonths.
"[Rapid re-housing] clients have to be ready and willing inorder for the program to work, and Samuel was," Melea said.
"She got me through it though," Samuel was quick tointerject. "I wouldn't have been able to get off the streets-I would've givenup. It's turned my life around."
Samuel keeps in touch with Melea regularly, and is alsoworking with one of People Incorporated's Assertive Community Treatment teams,which provide intensive support to homeless and f
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