|
From Ward 5 Minneapolis City Council Member, Jeremiah Ellison.
On February 27, I had the honor of joining Mayor Frey, Council President Payne, Commissioner Barnette, Director Nelson Brown and BCR Program Manager Marisa Stevenson for a press conference about the Behavioral Crisis Response(BCR) program.
The Behavioral Crisis Response program has been running for the past three years. I was around on the elected side when we first started thinking about the need for this kind of service in our city. We did a 911 problem nature code study back in 2018 and one of the things that we found was that mental and emotional distress calls were one of the top five most time consuming calls for officers. Not top five most dangerous but it was still their top five most time consuming calls. This told us that this is an urgent service and need in our community. We didn't have an appropriate response and I think that was a lot of the impetus of why we leaned into creating this.
The program is still in it's pilot years which feels a little bit funny because if you go around and talk to officers and community members; folks want this to be the status quo here in the city. Even though it is still in it's pilot years, you're seeing that folks are already demanding that this be elevated to the same level as police, fire or EMS.
The reason I'm so passionate about this program is because unfortunately, we often have to learn things the hard way in our city. I remember in 2018, my first year in office, there was the case of Travis Jordan. His family members called for a mental services, an officer arrived on the scene and was not equipped to handle the situation that got beyond his control and Travis Jordan ended up being killed. I thought about who was served in that situation? Certainly not our officer who was in a situation that he felt was getting beyond his control, certainly not Travis's family who was the one who wanted to call to get help and not Travis himself who was ultimately killed. I think that is a big part of why you see a sense of urgency to make sure we can grow this program and get it to a place it needs to be.
If the city tried to build this program from scratch, we would not be where we are today. We don't have the expertise, infrastructure or ability to hire as we need to in order to be up and running. BCR as successful as it has been can not be talked about without talking about Canopy Roots and the service they have provided and delivering in this program. Canopy Roots does have the expertise, know the infrastructure they need, and have buy in from mental health providers to work there. Thank Canopy Roots for your partnership and the work you are doing.
If you would like to learn more about this program, check out here.
Minnesota Department of Transportation is currently conducting a study to better understand the needs of the community and explore long-term options that benefit the surrounding community and people who use the highway.
The study will use technical analysis and input from the community on their transportation needs, existing experiences, and desires for the future of Olson Memorial Hwy.
Summary of work
- Gather community input on their transportation needs and desires for the future of Olson Memorial Hwy
- Summarize the issues and problems within the study area through a Purpose and Need Statement
- Explore short and long-term improvements
- Evaluate ideas through technical analysis and community input
- Identify design alternatives
- Describe the next steps to advance future construction
MnDOT will be holding a few community workshops this month to get your inputs. Feel free to join and share what you would like to see in this project.
Upcoming
Tue, March 12
Community Workshop at Bethune Community School
6-8 p.m.
919 Emerson Ave. N., Minneapolis, MN, 55411
Tue, March 26
Community Workshop at Summit Academy OIC
4:30-6:30 p.m.
935 Olson Memorial Hwy, Minneapolis, MN, 55405
I was honored to join my colleagues Council Vice President Chughtai, Councilmember Osman and Councilmember Chowdhury in presenting an honorary resolution to CAIR and RISE in commemorating the observance of Ramadan 2024 and its significance to Muslims in Minneapolis today.
Read the Ramadan Resolution here.
I was honored to join Councilmember Jenkins in presenting an honorary resolution to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and my mom, Kim Ellison in recognizing March as Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month in the city of Minneapolis
Read the Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Resolution here.
Workforce culture and worker pay is essential to make our city strong and I am excited to have the George Modular Factory coming to our ward to do just that. For the last two years Mr. Devean George and his team have been working with the city to get this project to the place it's at today.
This past council cycle, we approved $3 million dollars of state funding to be allocated to this project. The George Modular Factory will be bringing a modular plant that would provide 160 people with household supportive wages at $38/hour, $30 million dollars of investment, and it would also bring cutting edge construction technology inside the city, and is a black owned business.
This is a big milestone in this project and we are happy to be supportive of Mr. George and team's work. This is an innovative solution to several problems we see in the Northside and city and will serve North Minneapolis and the region as a whole.
Learn more about this work at George Modular Solutions.
Join me from 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM every Monday for Open Coffee Hours! These are informal and a chance for me to hear directly from you while we share coffee or a meal (virtually).
Office hours is on a first come first served basis. Please try not to call in past 12:50 p.m. as we want to leave enough time to chat about what you'd like to discuss.
Please RSVP here and my staff will follow-up with the call-in details. If you have any questions or concerns, reach out to Dieu Do, Policy Associate, at dieu.do@minneapolismn.gov.
Are you experiencing struggles with food insecurity, housing, career readiness, and legal matters? Are you in need of help? Please look below to see which resources can be beneficial to you.
Career Readiness
Family Support & Educational Programming
Food Insecurity
Housing/Tenant Protections
Legal Representation
Minneapolis residents eligible for energy assistance may qualify to have the additional cost of a winter storm surcharge removed from their gas bills. Gas customers eligible for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) can qualify to have a gas surcharge removed.
The City of Minneapolis is encouraging anyone who may qualify to apply for assistance:
The fee will be removed through September 2026.
Additional Benefit
- Those who qualify will also be enrolled in CenterPoint Energy’s Gas Affordability Program. This will limit the amount a customer will pay per month on their gas bill.
You might be eligible for free or low-cost internet services. The City is partnering with local providers to help make the internet more accessible.
Resources include:
- Discounted internet for household use.
- Free temporary internet access at Wi-Fi hotspots.
- Free internet access to public sector information including City, County and State resources.
- Low-cost computers.
- Public computer access.
- Personal help from a “digital navigator.”
Call 311, email 311 or look on the City website to find details, a list of resources and how to find out if you qualify for different internet services programs.
To help others find these resources, Hennepin County has developed flyers in four languages to share.
The Affordable Connectivity Program helps households pay for internet service and get a discount on a device. Find out if you qualify for the program on the Hennepin County website.
Food Shelves and Food Distribution
- Check out the Minneapolis food security resources on the City website. You can find locations, hours, contact information, and volunteer/donation needs of local food shelves and food distributions.
- To see food shelves by location, explore our map.
Need to report an issue? Can't find the right information? Minneapolis 311 can help. 311 coordinates with City departments and service providers to report your concerns, find you information and connect you with nonemergency City services. For example, if you report an abandoned vehicle, pothole, or long grass/weeds, 311 connects with the experts in the right department to get to the bottom of it.
There are many ways to get in contact with 311 for non-emergency City information. Choose what's easiest for you.
-
Call 311. Agents are here to answer your call 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Call 311 from within city limits or 612-673-3000.
-
Email 311. You can email 311 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Agents will respond 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.
-
Text 311. You can text 311 a short question any time. Just text two or three keywords to 311TXT (311898) to receive an answer from the Minneapolis 311 information database on your mobile phone.
-
Get the 311 mobile app. Report neighborhood issues on the 311 mobile app 24 hours a day.
-
TTY. 311 agents use computer-based technology so hearing-impaired callers can easily communicate with the City using TDD/TTY devices. Call TTY 612-263-6850.
-
Use the contact form. You can send 311 your comments or questions on the website contact form.
|
