May Community Safety Center Updates

The Office of Community Safety staff have been meeting with the South Minneapolis community about the South Minneapolis and the Lake Street community safety centers. They’ve held public meetings with various community members and have engaged with people on the street about the two community safety centers. The feedback and information gathered from community members will help decide the services and resources that could be in the community safety centers.  

We are continuing our efforts to connect with community members. Below are some upcoming events: 

• Engagement with older adults on May 6.  
• Engagement with individuals who identify as African American on May 8.  
• Engagement with individuals who attend the Minneapolis Police Department 3rd Precinct Open House on May 14.  
• Conversation focused on the needs of people living with disabilities who live, work, and visit South Minneapolis and agencies who work with individuals with disabilities. This conversation is part of the monthly meeting of the Minneapolis Advisory Committee on People with Disabilities on May 15. 
• Engagement with individuals who identify as LBGTQIA+ on May 14. We anticipate a big turnout for this event. To manage capacity, we ask that you please sign-up. This will help us ensure we have food, supplies, and staff for people who attend. 
• Engagement with residents of Hale, Page, and Diamond Lake neighborhoods at their monthly community association board meeting on May 20.  
• Engagement with residents of the Field, Regina, and Northrop neighborhoods at their monthly board meeting on June 19. 

Online meeting May 22  

An online meeting about services in the South Minneapolis Community Safety Center will be held on May 22. Everyone who lives and works in Southeast Minneapolis is welcome to participate, but an RSVP is required. We want to make sure we have enough staff to facilitate discussions and take notes as well as provide interpretation. Check the city’s webpage for the information on how sign-up and how to join the meeting.   

Survey is open  

Residents and businesses in Southeast Minneapolis should watch their mail for postcards arriving in the next few days. We hope to hear from everyone who works in and/or lives in the area served by the South Minneapolis Community Safety center. You can access the survey from the South Minneapolis Community Safety Center survey webpage. If you haven’t been able to attend any of our events, this is a great way to make sure your opinion is heard.  

Community engagement feedback  

Office of Community Safety staff has created reports on what we’ve heard during engagement events. Here are some examples of what we’ve been hearing so far:  

• Youth said these social services are most important: 

• Mental health 
• Substance use disorder services,  

• Homeless resources 
• Affordable housing 
• Employment support, and  
• Food security  

• The people we met and spoke with on Franklin Avenue and Lake Street, talked about these social services:  

• Substance use disorder services 
• Affordable housing 
• Mental health 
• Employment support, and  
• Homeless resources   

• Unsheltered community members wanted these social services in the centers: 

• Substance use disorder services 
• Affordable housing 
• Mental health 
• Food security 
• Homeless resources, and  
• Education support 

Summaries of what is gathered at these community engagement events are available on the Community Safety Centers Community Engagement Feedback and Reports webpage. Stay tuned for additional reports on events that OCS staff have recently facilitated.  

Please share this email with your friends, family, and other community members who may be interested in learning about the Community Safety Centers. Be sure to visit the community safety centers webpage for more information.