 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
11/6/2014
Contact:
Jan Callison, Hennepin County commissioner, 612-348-7886
Don Sabre, Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health, 612-348-2247
Maria Elena Baca, Hennepin County Communications, 612-348-7865
News release
Hennepin County is celebrating the grand opening of its fourth regional human services center, in downtown Hopkins. The event will be held Thursday, November 13, from 6 to 8 p.m., at 1011 1st Street South.
Officials and community members will celebrate and tour the new offices. The public also is invited to this free event.
Hennepin County human services staff members have been working at the site since mid-October, acclimating to a new address and a new way of business that allows clients to complete a broader needs assessment, apply for assistance and get referrals to other services, including those of local community agencies and faith groups.
Part of regionalization plan
The new site is only one part of a larger plan to expand human services access from a concentration of offices in downtown Minneapolis, to six sites, spread across the county and closer to where residents live, work and attend school. Rather than taking time from work and school to make the trip downtown, Hennepin County clients can integrate needed visits with their financial workers and other county staff into their everyday routines.
“We want to make our services accessible to people in the communities where they live,” said Rex Holzemer, assistant county administrator for human services. “More convenience means people connect with services earlier and we can help them get back to self-sufficiency as quickly as possible.”
Three other human services offices already are in operation, in Brooklyn Center, Bloomington and North Minneapolis. Two more openings, for offices serving central and northeast Minneapolis and south Minneapolis, are planned for 2015 and 2016.
"Putting these services into communities gives them added value for the residents who need them," said Hennepin County Commissioner Jan Callison, who represents Hennepin County 6th District."As we work to help the people in our neighborhoods, we want to continue to make the work we do both more effective and more efficient. This plan does both."
Hennepin County will partner with ResourceWest, a nonprofit human services organization that shares the same address, and other community agencies to offer residents a full spectrum of services.
Hennepin County has entered into a long-term lease for space in the newly refurbished building. The human services offices are an addition to the public health and WIC offices that already used that address.
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Look for more news on the Hennepin County website at www.hennepin.us/news.
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