Wintry mix spreads across Minnesota

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When Carlton Harris was homeless, his belongings weighed on him.

“It wore on every part of my well-being: my mental, my physical and my spiritual. Not to mention my emotional,” said Harris.

Carrying everything he had everywhere made him feel even more vulnerable.

“The fears I would have from happening to sleep on the train and carrying all my stuff with me and not knowing what to expect when I wake up and have to defend myself,” he said.

Harris is now in a more stable environment and serves on an advocacy group made up of people who’ve experienced homelessness called Street Voices of Change.

On Thursday, he spoke with reporters at the Leamington Transit Hub in downtown Minneapolis next to a room full of 50 plastic storage tubs. For the last three months the city and the Downtown Council have made the bins available free of charge.

The room is staffed by a member of the Downtown Improvement District for a few hours in the morning and a few hours in the early evening. It is not open weekends.

Steve Cramer, president and CEO of the Downtown Council, said representatives from the council, city of Minneapolis, Hennepin County and at least one private company will meet next week to discuss how much it will take to fund an expansion of the program.

“We don’t have a dollar figure yet or a program, but we know that we can — based on this experience — really look to expanding the program, both in terms in the number of opportunities and the extent to which it may be open during the day,” said Cramer.

The pilot program started in December and lasts through the end of the year, and may continue beyond that date.  The first year cost $25,000.

Mayor Jacob Frey, who included the funding in his budget, said his top priority is to make sure people have a place to live. But he said short-term solutions like this one are also very important.

Frey said a survey by the Downtown Council found that 75 percent of homeless people said — aside from not having a place to live — constantly carrying their belongings everywhere is one of their biggest concerns.

"That same 75 percent of people were also experiencing neck and back pain, shoulder pain and respiratory issues," said Frey.

Harris said he remembered not going to job interviews because he didn’t have somewhere to stash his gear and he didn’t want to bring it with him.

“Out of the fear of being judged or being looked at different, because I had to tote these bags along with me,” said Harris.

Correction (March 5, 2020): An earlier version of this story had an incorrect end date for the pilot program. The information is updated above. 

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Minneapolis city officials say they want to extend a pilot program that provides free storage for belongings.

A man speaks in front of microphones at a transit hub.

Mpls. program helps take some of the load off being homeless

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