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Contact:
Rex Holzemer, Assistant County Administrator–Human Services, 612-348-4806
Maria Elena Baca, Communications, 612-348-7865
Hennepin County has opened its fifth regional human service center, located in downtown Minneapolis.
The newest location, meant to serve residents who live and work in central and northeast Minneapolis, is in remodeled offices on the fifth and sixth floors of the Health Services Building, at 525 Portland Avenue. That building is home to several other Human Services and Public Health Department programs.
The new site is only one part of a larger plan to decentralize Hennepin County's 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. With services in their neighborhoods, Hennepin County residents in need of economic benefits can integrate needed visits with their financial workers and other county staff into their daily routines. The Century Plaza building, at 12th Street and 3rd Avenue, formerly the county's main human services office, will close in 2017, once all of the regional offices are established.
A new way of doing business
The new centers represent a new way of
business that allows clients to apply for
assistance and get referrals to other services, including those of local
community agencies and faith groups. In addition, all of the regional sites offer free parking, easy access to mass transit, and childcare during their visits. For the new site, limited parking is available in the HCMC parking ramp. Enter
on South 6th Street.
“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.”
Four other regional human services offices already are open, in
Brooklyn Center, Bloomington Hopkins and North Minneapolis. Earlier this month, the county celebrated the groundbreaking of a south Minneapolis human service center, which is expected to open in 2017.
Human services in Hennepin County
Across the county, there are about 250,000 open human
services case files.
As of the end of the third quarter in 2015:
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Nearly 52,000
people receive cash assistance.
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More than 150,000
families receive county assistance to coordinate child support.
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More than 122,000
get help with food support.
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About 14,500
people with disabilities get county help to live in their own communities.
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Look for more news on
the Hennepin County website at www.hennepin.us/news.
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