In this edition of Minneapolis Promise Zone Updates:
- Feature Story - Interview with Anissa Keyes!
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News and Events
- Effect Change by Attending a City Council Meeting
- Recent Federal Grant and Partnership Opportunities
- About the Minneapolis Promise Zone
 www.facebook.com/MinneapolisPromiseZone
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Interview with Anissa Keyes
To start, can you tell me about your work and what inspired you to invest in the historic Camden State Bank Building?
My mental health provider, by trade, that is what I was trained to do. Initially, my objective was to bring healing. We did that first by providing chemical dependency treatment centers, which was on site to provide the services. As we started to do that and created more partnerships, we expanded and started to rent out more spaces but really started to understand the importance of property ownership and real estate investment. I knew that when we started to rent out office spaces, might as well attempt to purchase them and build wealth for myself and for my future family.
I purchased the building a few years ago, here in North Minneapolis. It was a great opportunity, but it was not necessarily going to fulfill us long term as far as expansion and what we wanted to do. It was like a pit stop for us, so we moved into the space and began to rehab it then move clinicians into the space. We also left previous tenants that were in the space, with the hopes of being able to do something more with it. I had my eyes set on expanding it into something more for Arubah. Initially, I was looking into a bigger space for Arubah but when we came upon the Camden State Bank, there were all these other ideas. This visionary part of me was like, “Oh my gosh, this would be so amazing for my community.”
We moved from just getting a space for a headquarters for Arubah to “who else should we be supporting in this venture? What other small businesses don’t have opportunities?” I was thinking about the challenges that I have been with as a small business owner. Having to create my sort of own space and my own forward movement. Meaning that just not getting a lot of financial support and not having access to social capital like other nationalities and other folks that are in small businesses world have. Understanding how beneficial it would have been for me and knowing that I have the leverage and power to be able to provide that for other small businesses, it only made sense.
When we got to the space and started contemplating what the space would look like. Then we began to build this idea of being able to help other small business owners. Very quickly, I was thinking, the majority of the business owners would be African American business owners or business owners of color. It transitioned to fully African American business owners, after I got responses from other current business owners that were leaving.
When I have seen how the owners have not done the best job of taking care of the space. I just want to decrease outsider's footprint from the community. We want to remove the space they have taking up from our community, and really support those within the community and how to better the community. Being able to be thoughtful for the businesses that can be in there, so I get to grow my business but also supporting other business owners.
This building that you have now, are you rebuilding the whole space?
The majority of it, the first floor’s spaces will stay the same but the second and the third floor and the whole entire unit. The building wasn’t fully utilized the way it could have been, if it were to be in any other community the price would have been doubled and people would be utilizing it on so many different levels. The lower unit used to have a sauna, workout room, and a boxing gym, one side was dilapidated, and the other side was used for storage. It was not being utilized at all. We will rehab the whole entire space and be able to put eight to nine businesses in the lower space. We kind of already have an idea of which businesses are going to be down there, although, we got a strong response from other people that were interested in putting in their businesses as well.
On the second floor, very similarly, there is a bunch of small office units that we are going to change into an office suite. Then there is a huge, beautiful ballroom that we haven’t thought about what we are going to do with it yet, but we think it might be some sort of event center in North Minneapolis. We are trying to shift the narrative of North Minneapolis and create spaces that look a lot different than we are accustomed to. Hopefully, the event center is where people can come to and have baby showers, retreats, or some sort. That is in the far cusp, we don’t know how we are going to do that yet. We are going to see how the community help support us to do that.
The top floor is going to be Arubah’s office, it’s going to be our headquarters space which is amazing. There are twelve offices in there now, we are going to change it to ten along with a conference room, community space, and bathrooms. There is going to be an elevator in the building, which is probably the most exciting part, that business owners that are in there that we will be able to service all types of people, not just specific people that will climb two flights of stairs. We are excited to open a customer base to those who would normally be not able to do it such as elders, people with disabilities, and anybody would be able to access the space because of the elevator.
With this being a huge investment, when you had the opportunity to invest in this building what was going through your mind?
It feels like it totally makes sense, I think it’s an assumption that it is a huge investment, but the building comes with so many different assets to it. One, it is a historic building, the ability to restore something in the community, bring something back to life because it has been so under-utilized, and give back to small business owners.
Generational wealth for my kids, and to be able to have my kids to not start all over. That they would to be able to start with something right of the bat. The other thing is my responsibility and leverage. The power to be able to impact others and this would place me in a position to shift the trajectory of a lot of people, their lives, wellbeing, and future. I think that was the biggest thing, it wasn’t just about me; I think a lot in my mind, “If I just had the chance to change the world, I would do this...” We always talk about, “If I had the chance...”, but I got the chance and so, it’s amazing that I get to change people’s world and life.
We just signed a lease last week, Sierra Carter, who is a northsider and owns Zen Bin. She has been doing healing work in the community since, forever. I have been tracking and following her, she has a great small business and a healing space. She has been doing these plant-based goals, vegan and vegetarian options, which is what is needed. In our community, we have enough fast food and all of that. Not that it is bad, there is enough space for all of that but wouldn’t be amazing to have access to options to the same thing that people have in the suburbs? We don’t and for somebody who looks like us, like a trusted restaurant owner, where you can say, "You know what my flavor is. You know what I like.” The ability to put her on the map and provide space for her to get started, it is invaluable. That is the kind of stuff I can say, if not for me then not her. It’s the same thing, somebody was able to do that for me and it makes sense to keep passing it down and sharing that.
Moving back to your current work, there are a few Arubah’s locations and one of them is in North Minneapolis(52nd and Bryant). How did this name come to light?
I am a believer, I believe in Jesus Christ, my lord and savior. I went through a lot of Hebrew names because I feel like Hebrew is God’s love language. Arubah is a Hebrew word meaning restoration to sound health. I always had this image in my head of like, I don’t think that people who struggle with mental health, is not that they lack, it’s something that has happened. Sort of that they have been harmed or wounded by that has not allowed them to be themselves. There is just restoration that happens, restoring and bringing them back to who they were before, where you should be, where you want to be, or where you hope to be.
With communities being affected by the pandemic and police violence, especially the Northside, can you talk more about how Arubah plays a role in this moment?
Arubah is a place of refuge where you can feel seen or heard, safe, and that you can process what you need to process. We had a huge influx, of course, with covid, because any mental symptoms that they may have had exacerbated. Any African American that are already struggling with anything it got 15x worse when George Floyd was murdered. To see that, most of us, have a bicurious traumatic experience, seeing their father, son, or brothers on the screen. Even just for a healthy person, who is a hundred percent what they need to do to take care of themselves is impacted. You could imagine the mental health community, especially the mental health community in North Minneapolis that is African American were really in shambles at that time. Arubah became a space for people that can reach out and for people who never thought about mental health before felt it and knew that they needed it.
Arubah is one of those places that already has been here. We’ve established ourselves as credible, safe, supportive, and present; knowing that we aren’t going anywhere with great providers. Because we were already worded in that way, it sort of really positioned us to support the community the way they needed to be supported.
We had a lot of clients reaching out because we’re black-owned, but a lot of them too, started to understand that mental health is a real thing. It’s like, “This is bigger than just my body acting up, I need to change my diet, or I need to pray more”. So, we had a lot of people reaching out that had never sought services before because sometimes bicurious trauma and pain can push you in the direction like, “You got to deal with this.” For Arubah, we are just happy that we are here and ready. It makes me sad that we couldn’t address all the needs. We were hitting about 50% of the clients that were coming into our offices that we were able to retain. This is because people needed services and support right away, and we couldn’t accommodate the influx of clients and numbers that were coming in. We did a lot of support, but we didn’t have the capacity for the needs that were having around us. Which was part of the reason of the expansion, we needed to grow because the need is here.
What kind of difficulties/barriers have you encountered while working at Arubah? Or what kind of challenges do you expect that will arise in the future after the building is finished?
I think it’s always money. I don’t want to sound like a broken record but the reality of being a black-owned, women-owned business, I still have a hard time getting a line of credit for a business because of the things I have done in my the past and didn’t have the awareness to make certain choices. I don’t have a grandpa behind me to tell me this is what I should do or what a business should do. I had a foreclosure in the past as well as a bankruptcy, and so that haunts me. Even as acquiring real estate, growing my business, and having a successful business; that doesn’t preclude me from my history. That is just one part of my history along with the other pieces that are present too. The fact that I don’t have the same social capital coming to a space as my other peers or counterpart's small businesses have. I don’t have a mom or dad that will say, “Hey, I’ll give you a down payment on that”.
All those challenges financially that come with being a black-owned, female-owned business owner and now a commercial real estate developer. All the challenges that come with who I am, automatically removes me out of certain circles or by nature that doesn’t allow me to look pretty to certain information. Just because the group or class I am in, and so there is always that piece. Also, there is a piece of not knowing, not having enough information, not knowing where to go to get it, and not having enough connection.
With your support and influence within the community, there are younger generations that look up to their local leaders who care deeply about their work, what is your advice to them?
What I want to be to the younger generation is to be more present teacher and influencer. Not that we didn’t get that from the older generation. There is a lot more barriers like my mom who came here in the late 60s and has a fifth-grade education level. She didn’t necessarily have the same awareness to be able to teach me those things. I think personally, a lot more influence from me and what other people that are doing will be helpful.
What I would say is that it’s about all of us. One, we are a team, we build better, and we accomplish more when we work together. Whatever you want and whatever you desire is possible, it is well within your reach. I don’t want them to think that because of their ethnicity, background, where they come from, gender, sexuality, what they look like, or what they have done wrong, whatever they want is well within reach. The biggest thing is that they can get there, I don’t ever want them to think that it is not possible, anything is possible.
When will we expect to hear more updates regarding to the building? Or is there a timeline for when the Camden State Bank Building to be finished?
To keep updated with updates regarding to the building you can access Anissa Keye’s social media here:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anissa.beasley
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anissanicolekeyes
Twitter: https://twitter.com/anissa_keyes
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News and Events
 Registration now open for State drawing of Minnesota college scholarships for vaccinated 5- 11-year-olds
The registration form is open for Minnesota parents whose 5- to 11-year-olds receive the COVID-19 vaccine to register for a $100,000 Minnesota college scholarship. Any Minnesota parent or guardian whose 5- to 11-year-old has ever received both doses of COVID-19 vaccine by April 11 can enter to win one of five $100,000 Minnesota college scholarships.
On April 15, the State of Minnesota will hold a drawing for five $100,000 scholarships valid at any public or private nonprofit higher educational institution in Minnesota.
The Minnesota college scholarship drawing is part of an effort to boost the vaccination rate of Minnesota’s children. While Minnesota is a national leader in vaccinating children 5-11 years old, this age group still has the lowest vaccination rate among eligible Minnesotans.
The “Kids Deserve a Shot” program is helping boost vaccination rates among Minnesota children. The college scholarship drawing comes after Minnesota families registered more than 22,000 children to receive a $200 Visa gift card for getting their vaccines between Jan. 1 and Feb. 28.
Minnesotans can learn more about the “Kids Deserve a Shot” program, register for the scholarship drawing, and view official rules on the State of Minnesota website in English, Spanish, Somali and Hmong.
How Minnesotans can get their free shots
Call for help
- For questions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, call 1-833-431-2053 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday or 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.
- Mental health crisis line: call **CRISIS (**274747).
Provide Feedback in the Minneapolis Food Action Plan (MFAP) Survey and Enter to Win a $50 Grocery Gift Card
The City of Minneapolis needs your help to decide the future of the City's local food system. We are developing a 2030 roadmap toward a more equitable, just, and climate-friendly local food system and local food economy. Proposed strategies are organized into six categories (or pathways) to help the City take action and rank its goals. All responses are confidential and most questions are optional. If you live or work in Minneapolis, please fill out the survey.
If you take the survey you can enter a drawing for one of ten $50 gift cards to local grocery stores.
Take the survey here: Minneapolis Food Action Plan Survey
Resources for students and families during the teachers strike
The City of Minneapolis has compiled a list of resources for students and families during the teachers strike affecting Minneapolis Public Schools.
Emergency food resources
School-based clinics
The Minneapolis Health Department’s school-based clinics remain open to serve students’ physical and mental health needs.
Safe places for kids
- The Minneapolis Office of Violence Prevention Violence Interrupter teams are adding daytime coverage hours and attending high school sports games.
Updates about the strike
The Minneapolis Public Schools website offers updates on the negotiations.
City Council’s Committee of the Whole briefed on after-action review of City’s response to civil unrest following George Floyd’s murder
Hillard Heintze, a security risk management firm, presented key findings and recommendations of an after-action review of the City’s response to civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd to the City Council’s Committee of the Whole March 8.
The analysis focuses on the City’s actions immediately following Floyd’s murder from May 25 to June 3, 2020. The unrest came as the City was also navigating the early stages of the pandemic and transitioning to a remote work environment.
The City initiated a one-year contract with Hillard Heintze in February 2021 after issuing a request for proposals (RFP). The purpose of an after-action review is to facilitate learning, corrective action and continuous improvement of crisis-response systems.
The report found the City did not properly use the City’s Emergency Operations Plan to effectively guide the response to the unrest or capitalize on training from other recent large-scale events to establish a framework for a crisis response.
The review also includes 27 recommendations for the City to consider. Under Mayor Jacob Frey’s direction, the City’s Office of Emergency Management is working with the responsible departments on developing an implementation plan to take action on the recommendations. The City is also committed to providing quarterly reports to Mayor Frey and the City Council as implementation moves forward to ensure accountability.
The City’s Office of Emergency Management presents senior official training, including elected official training, as part of the new council onboarding process. The current training cycle is underway and initial National Incident Management System training will be completed later this month. The Emergency Operations Plan is reviewed and revised on a four-year rolling basis with the State of Minnesota. The next major iteration is scheduled to be approved by resolution by the City Council this year.
Since May 2020, the Police Department and the Mayor’s Office have taken action to strengthen oversight and accountability through a series of policy and training reforms, including those related to less lethal munitions. For example, any use of crowd control weapons needs to be approved and directed by the police chief or chief’s designee unless there is a threat of objectively imminent physical harm to an officer or community member. In these circumstances, crowd control weapons may only be used against the specific people who are posing a threat.
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LIMS is the one place you need to go to find and track council agenda and actions
The City’s new system for looking up City Council records and videos is now online. The legislative information management system (LIMS) is available at lims.minneapolismn.gov.
With LIMS, you can:
- Get the agenda for upcoming City Council and committee meetings.
- Look up past and future City Council agenda items and supporting documents.
- Track individual agenda items from council introduction through final action.
- See how council members voted.
- Find and watch video of City Council and committee proceedings.
Upcoming City Council and Committee Meetings
- Business, Inspections, Housing & Zoning Committee - Thursday, March 17 at 10:00 am
- Public Works & Infrastructure Committee - Thursday, March 17 at 1:30 pm
- Public Health & Safety Committee - Monday, March 21 at 1:30 pm
- Policy & Government Oversight Committee - Tuesday, March 22 at 10:00 am
- Committee of the Whole - Tuesday, March 22 at 1:30 pm
- City Council - Thursday, March 24 at 9:30 am
All meetings can be viewed online at City Council TV, unless otherwise noted. For a more detailed list of meetings of the City Council, committees, and boards and commissions, please refer to LIMS, described under the "Effect Change by Attending a City Council Meeting" section
For additional details on the opportunities below, and to find additional opportunities, please visit www.grants.gov.
Federal Grant Preference for Promise and Opportunity Zones
There are 14 urban Promise Zones (PZs) and over 8,700 Opportunity Zone Census Tracts across the country. Within the North Minneapolis Promise Zone (NMPZ), which covers most of North Minneapolis, there are seven Opportunity Zones (OZs). Please find the official OZ map here: https://opportunityzones.hud.gov/resources/map
Many Federal grants and funding opportunities offer some form of preference for applicants located in and/or serving people in these Zones. Some HUD (U.S. Dept of Housing & Urban Development) grants offer PZ preference, and a list of additional Federal grants with OZ preference can be found here: https://opportunityzones.hud.gov/resources, as well as on www.Grants.gov.
When searching www.Grants.gov or the Federal grant links we provide, please remember to search the full funding announcement (often a larger Word doc or PDF) for OZ and/or PZ preference.
In order to take advantage of the preference points and make sure you have the right forms, or if you have questions about eligibility, please reach out to the NMPZ Director, Juli Leerssen (julianne.leerssen@minneapolismn.gov), (612) 225-7721, and HUD PZ/OZ Liaison Jake Akervik (jacob.s.akervik@hud.gov).
List of Grants
Bold indicates additions since last newsletter
Federal Grants
Other Grants
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About the Minneapolis Promise Zone
Promise Zones are federally designated, high poverty communities where the federal government partners with local leaders to increase economic activity, improve educational opportunities, and leverage private investment. The Minneapolis Promise Zone (MPZ) plan is a comprehensive, community-driven revitalization strategy that builds on and aligns numerous initiatives to address the persistent unemployment, crime, housing blight, and poor educational outcomes that affect that area.
Contact information: Juli Leerssen, (612) 225-7721
For more information, please visit www.minneapolismn.gov/promisezone
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