North Central faculty Beth Brown, LICSW responds to the Minneapolis Hiawatha Homeless Encampment with key takeaways about how we can help the homeless
While Minneapolis was recently recognized as the 3rd healthiest city in America, and also the most charitable, there is still a significant population of homeless and highly mobile.
Hear from faculty Beth Brown, a licensed independent social worker, about the Minneapolis homeless situation, her experiences interacting with the community, and more.
About the Minneapolis homeless encampment
The Hiawatha Homeless encampment was located close to North Centrals campus. The encampment, which started as just a few tents and grew to a small village of tents, was as a makeshift home to Minneapolis residents who didn’t have a place to call their own.
It grew rapidly over the course of several months, and served as a sort of safe community of sorts for people looking for a place of residence.
“We definitely do have a housing crisis right now.” Brown said. A large number of people stayed in the encampment until it was shut down shortly before the holiday season in 2018.
When considering the reason that the homeless encampment materialized, Brown said, “It wasn’t that we just suddenly had more homeless people than we had before… They found safety in their numbers.” She explains that many homeless were in the encampment and not in a shelter due to three primary reasons:
- The shelter system in Minnesota has a lot of red tape.
- There are not as many sheltered beds in the Twin cities as are needed
- The majority of shelter beds are only available roughly 8 p.m. until 6 a.m.. They’re only open for night time, and many people are looking for a place to be during the day.
Brown continued to explain how people were impacted by the encampment, “The people that I was able to talk to I heard [this] a lot. ‘I finally feel like I can rest. I’m not walking all day long. I don’t have to stand in line and hope that I get a bed tonight.’ There was a lot of community that developed there.”
Brown also pointed out that while the encampment in Minneapolis may have seemed to emerge suddenly, that it shone a light on a problem of homelessness that has been present for a long time: “I’m so grateful that it became present. It wasn’t that the homelessness wasn’t already there, it was just hidden.”
Visiting the homeless
Brown had the opportunity to visit the Hiawatha Homeless Encampment with a group of North Central students. “We didn’t want to just walk up with out permission. We wanted to make sure that we came in the right way.” Brown was able to connect with a pastor at a Catholic church who she knew had been serving the Native American community in the past (sine the majority of the Hiawatha Homeless Encampment was of the Native American culture), and asked how they could help.
After a quick drive to collect food, donations, and clothing, Brown and one North Central student had the opportunity to visit the encampment alongside the pastor with whom they were partnering. She describes the feeling of entering the encampment, “It was just kind of this moment… I’d driven by, and seen it on the interstate, but I just… we walked in and you forgot you were in Minneapolis. I felt very welcomed because of who I was with, but also I just recognized how huge the need was.”
Takeaway: Meet practical needs. Find out what goods and services are needed, and partner with an organization that can help you to deliver those.
Brown compared the feeling of the encampment to travels that she has taken to what are considered to be third-world countries. She also emphasized the importance of understanding the context of the community, “There’s been a huge problem within the Native American community with substance abuse. But this goes back to historical trauma. So having an understanding of this historical trauma, having an understanding of substance abuse… my heart just broke. There are so many resources available in so many ways but we haven’t figured out how to really work well with a community of people that’s been so traumatized. What needs to happen? How do we bridge?”
This idea of building a bridge and meeting needs emerged as a theme for Brown. “This is not my lived experience. I’m not coming in to try to fix you. I’m not coming in to tell you my way is the right way. I am coming in to say ‘What is the need, and how can I connect you to a resource?'”
Takeaway: When visiting the homeless, be sure to connect with a local organization that has an understanding of the needs and dynamics at hand.
Interacting with negative voices about homelessness
With the encampment growing so quickly and drawing attention to what, for some, can be an uncomfortable subject to address (but that needs addressing), media coverage was significant. And not all media coverage was productive or helpful. Brown said, “There were a lot of people in the city making a lot of negative comments through media. They were saying that they’re homeless because they want to be. And that is not the truth.”
She continued to describe some of the reasons that people faced homelessness and ended up joining the encampment, “Oftentimes our shelters would only allow women and children, but not families. Families would have to choose to separate to find shelter. There are other barriers. If they have substance abuse issues—you don’t just go into a shelter and it fixes you. You need treatment. If you’ve ever been kicked out of a shelter before, that would likely keep you from finding shelter again.”
Takeaway: Don’t assume that the homeless have complete control over their situation. Do operate with kindness, love, and a desire to understand.
Offering organized help
Since the encampment brought so many homeless people to one area, many challenges presented (including health, substance abuse, feminine hygiene needs, and more), but several organizations were also able to visit the camp and offer a variety of needed services. Brown explained, “There was a kind of consortium of groups that specifically work with the Native American community. There were definitely people there who had the sole purpose of helping people get signed up for housing… There were people there from different health communities doing testing. There were groups that were coming in to serve food, do cleanup.”
While there were many organizations that stepped up to help at the Hiawatha Homeless Encampment, homelessness is still a significant issue in Minneapolis, and around the world. And as Christians, we’re called to serve these people. Deuteronomy 15:7-8 describes our call to serve the poor as this: “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be.”
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Feature photo credit: Getty, Kerem Yucel
