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This morning, I received the deeply disappointing news from Luther Seminary that they were bowing to pressure and canceling their agreement with Model Cities to host the Safe Space shelter program at Stub Hall. This was particularly upsetting because it came just one day before our planned town hall meeting, where our experienced staff and partners were confident that they could hear out and address community concerns while meeting the mission of the program.
I have been working for more than 5 years to find a more dignified and suitable space for this emergency need than the former Ramsey County Detox clinic, which people currently access through a loading dock and a long series of narrow stairs. I am devastated and disappointed that in the midst of a dire humanitarian crisis in our community and throughout the Twin Cities, that we are now back to square one in our efforts to provide dignified shelter for our neighbors in their time of greatest need.
Ramsey County and Model Cities will continue to work to locate a suitable space to provide dignified shelter for dozens of people each night. We had spent months searching, planning and building relationships with many potential sites that did not meet our needs before we finally came to Luther Seminary. The opportunity of Stub Hall was unique in the county; a building where our neighbors in their moment of greatest need could be given not just a cot and a pillow, but a real dormitory style room and a bathroom of their own. I am very afraid that there may not be another available, suitable, affordable building anywhere else in the county. If you are aware of a suitable building that may be available for lease, please reach out to my office with your ideas.
Working with our partners in the Heading Home Ramsey continuum of care, we have struggled for years to secure more resources and funding to meet this desperate need without success. This year’s legislative session just concluded with no additional direct funding for organizations and local governments working to end homelessness after underfunding us by $5 million last year. As the need for shelter continues to grow in our region, every provider is struggling with declining funding and rising costs.
All across our city, I see brightly colored signs declaring that “ALL ARE WELCOME HERE". Now I wonder how much we really mean it. The campaign of fearmongering and innuendo waged against unsheltered people over the last few weeks has been the most disheartening thing that I have ever witnessed as an elected official in Ramsey County. With the eviction moratorium no longer in place and amid rapidly changing economic conditions, any one of us could fall into homelessness with shocking speed. I urge everyone to step back and reflect on what today’s news will mean for the least fortunate among us.
Read more about Safe Space and the county's shelter efforts here. |
