Federal immigration activity complicates homeless outreach efforts

NINA MOINI: We heard earlier from chief meteorologist Paul Huttner that there's some warmer weather in our future. This is after weeks, though, of subzero and single-digit temperatures. The bitter cold is especially dangerous for unhoused people who are living outside. And it makes the work of people like Anvis Aryavong more urgent. He manages the Street Outreach program for Agate Housing and Services. He says federal immigration activities on top of the frigid weather has created challenges.

ANVIS ARYAVONG: So when it gets really cold out, we try to go out with as much stuff as possible, with all the gloves, the hand warmers, the hats, anything to keep warm-- emergency blankets, boots if you have them. We'll also go out with bus tokens so people can get on the bus and ride the light rail. And if need be, we can transport them to some warming spaces, like the library or the Kola day center, wherever they can get in.

And if they want to, we can try to get a reservation for them into a shelter for that evening. The beds run out fairly quickly when it gets really cold out. We'll tell them about Kola, which is a first come, first serve shelter. And if they can get there by 7:00 PM, they'll have a good chance of getting in.

But there aren't just an unlimited number of beds there or recliners there. So their space is limited, too. It's hard because all we can really give them is more survival gear, a heavier coat, more hand warmers, and just hope that they'll be OK overnight.

We do notice that people are more difficult to find. They are not out there like they used to be. They're more in hiding and-- just makes our work a little bit more difficult. I don't know if it's tied into the really bitter cold or the recent killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

It could be a combination of both. It's difficult to say. But people are definitely less visible. The community is small. They all share information. So the news travels quickly. I feel like people fear getting picked up and detained.

So on Friday, most of our organization had the day off. Our organization provided that paid time off for all of our staff. But the Street Outreach team knew it was going to be very cold that morning. And they all decided to come in and go out on outreach, go out to the field to provide the population that we serve items like hand warmers, gloves, hats, things to keep them warm.

We care very deeply about the folks who are unsheltered right now. And we want to make sure that they're safe and warm. And that's what drives us every day. It just never ends.

NINA MOINI: That's Anvis Aryavong, program manager for the Street Outreach at Agate Housing and Services in Minneapolis. His team works out of an administrative office two blocks from the site where federal immigration officers killed Alex Pretti.

Also in that immediate area is a new shelter and supportive housing space by a different organization called Simpson Housing Services. It just opened this month, and it's been years in the making. Simpson's associate director, Wendy Wiegmann, joins me now. Thanks for your time this afternoon, Wendy.

WENDY WIEGMANN: Thank you, Nina. It's great to be on.

NINA MOINI: So your organization is just opening this space over this past month in this area where Alex Pretti was killed and where there's been all of this heightened presence of federal law enforcement. What has that been like?

WENDY WIEGMANN: It's been amazing to open this new building. It's been seven years in the making. We embarked on this process back in 2019 to rebuild our shelter on this site and have an intentionally designed safe space for people to be. And it's been hard. We have been a part of the Whittier community for 45 years and have just really shared in both the trauma and the healing that's been happening in our community in the last weeks and months.

NINA MOINI: So we heard about, in the clip that we played right before we spoke with you-- about some of the impact on outreach to people outside. What impact has it had on your work as a shelter and a supportive housing organization?

WENDY WIEGMANN: I think it goes without saying that the folks that we are serving, both in housing and in our shelter, are impacted by the law enforcement activity. I think people that have experienced homelessness and have been unhoused are really no stranger to instability and fear and trauma, and this just elevates this. Our goal is really to create housing opportunities and the shelter that we just opened to offer safety and healing and opportunities for growth and transformation. And that's really our goal.

NINA MOINI: Do you hear stories from people who are coming in about any experiences that they have had related to any federal immigration enforcement or agents? A few minutes ago, we heard a story about the health effects of tear gas. Is that something that you're seeing with people who come into the shelter?

WENDY WIEGMANN: I think everyone has been impacted by this. And I think we're just continuing to try to create a safe place for people to be. I think a lot of folks in both our housing and shelter are staying in. We're glad to have-- to be able to offer this shelter that has a place where people can be and be safe inside in these times.

NINA MOINI: Let's talk about the new space and the new building because I know, obviously, all of this is happening with the federal law enforcement presence. But your work was going on before and will continue to go on, obviously. So I do want to ask you about just the new building. How many people are you able to serve there?

WENDY WIEGMANN: I think this has been just the very hopeful part in this time-- is that we have been working really hard on this building. So Simpson-- we began back in 1982 as part of the Simpson United Methodist Church-- opened their doors to people sleeping on their steps. And I don't think they anticipated that at some point, they were going to give us the building and we were going to have to rebuild the shelter there. But 45 years later, here we are.

The shelter has really been purpose-built for the intention of sheltering people. In the past, we were in the basement of a church. And it was dark, and there were no windows. And everything about this building is different. We have access to natural light from wherever you stand in the building, lots of secure personal spaces.

We spent about a year meeting every week with our architect and design team. Everything is intentionally designed with people in mind. We got a lot of input from residents and guests all through the process about how-- a place that they would want to live.

Ultimately, it is a building that has sleeping rooms where we can have 72 people-- men, women, and non-binary folks-- on a nightly basis. And then in addition, knowing that we were going to be building a new shelter, we knew we didn't want to build shelter without housing as a part of it.

And so early on, we partnered with PPL, Project for Pride in Living. And they co-developed with us this site. And so in addition to the 72 units of our 72 shelter beds, we also have 42 permanent supportive housing units that PPL owns and manages on the top two floors of the site. We are in the process of filling those.

Those are all going to be new units. They're targeting long-term homeless folks. And 30 of the units are going to be designated for people who are experiencing chronic homelessness in our community. So we're taking applications right now. They're all going to be through the coordinated entry process. But we're hoping we're going to be getting some people, unhoused folks, into housing in the next month.

NINA MOINI: I was wondering about 72 shelter spaces, 42 units of permanent supportive housing. That seems really significant. What is the need like in the area and in Minneapolis, because in checking with folks that-- a couple of months ago at the county level, both in Ramsey County, Hennepin County, it did seem like folks were concerned about being able to provide shelter for people throughout this winter. And then it has been so cold. And there has been so much going on. Do you sense that these spaces are going to fill up fast? And then is there still a need?

WENDY WIEGMANN: Oh, absolutely. Well, our shelter was-- is full year-round. Whether it's summer, whether it's winter, our shelter is always full. We anticipate the housing units are much needed for people at 30% of area median income or lower-- are-- is great. Those are going to fill.

We need more buildings like this, where there is both place that's low barrier for people to get in off the street, and then long-term housing support for folks. I know the-- in terms of the cold weather, the county, Hennepin County, has really stepped in to add more shelter beds this winter. And I know they've added 133 shelter beds this winter. And those are full.

NINA MOINI: All right, Wendy. Thank you so much for your work and sharing it with us on Minnesota Now.

WENDY WIEGMANN: Really appreciate you having us on. Thank you.

NINA MOINI: Wendy Wiegmann is associate director of Simpson Housing Services in Minneapolis.