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Joseph Maxwell lived in his car and shelters the last six years, always staying alert for danger even as he slept. Noise from other shelter guests and staff opening and shutting doors kept him awake at night. Staff checked on him every three hours at one shelter. 

But that has all changed recently. Maxwell was one of the first residents to move into Bimosedaa, an affordable housing complex in downtown Minneapolis that offers supportive services with a special focus on the needs of Native tenants. It’s one of a handful of developments in Minnesota that caters to Native residents facing homelessness and struggling with substance abuse. 

“Here, I fall right in a deep sleep,” said Maxwell, who moved into the building last December. “For the first week I was here, I didn’t hear anything. I caught up on all my sleep just from not being alerted.” 

The nonprofits Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative and Avivo and the Red Lake Nation partnered to begin developing Bimosedaa in May 2019. The effort was a direct response to the city of Minneapolis evicting the Wall of Forgotten Natives homeless encampment in 2018. 

The city later evicted a second iteration of the Wall of Forgotten natives encampment in August 2023, and the Camp Nenookaasi encampment earlier this month. Both encampments had large numbers of Native occupants. A new encampment that sprung up after Camp Nenookaasi is now facing eviction at an undetermined date due to public safety and health concerns.

Bimosedaa, which means “let’s walk together” in Ojibwe, is located in Minneapolis’ warehouse district, and features seven floors and 48 units. Each unit is rented out at $1,010 a month, which is 30 percent of the area median income.

Maxwell’s partner, Elizabeth Howard, lives in the same unit as him. They each have their own separate bedroom and bathroom, but share a communal kitchen located in between the two bedrooms.

“It was just not a good environment at those kinds of houses where we were staying at,” Maxwell said of the shelters he previously used. “I mean, it was good that we were still around Native people, but it was just not like this. We have our own apartment. This is my first apartment ever.

Maxwell and Howard are both Native and from the Red Lake Nation. Maxwell has received Social Security benefits for over 20 years. Three-quarters of his social security benefits—about $750 per month—go toward rent, with a county housing program contributing another portion, he said. 

Eighteen residents currently live at Bimosedaa. Thirty-six units are studio units that range between 330 and 490 square feet. A dozen units are two-bedroom, 670-square-feet apartments. The lobby and other common areas are in the final stages of renovation. The building’s exterior will be complete in a few months.

Each unit comes furnished with a small table, a mattress and bed frame, and an armoire. Utilities are included in rent. The downtown location has limited space, so there is no free parking, said Dan Gregory, Beacon’s director of communications. But a light rail station is located about a block away, and the building offers a bike room in the basement. 

Beacon purchased the building in 2019 for $1.9 million and renovated it over the last few years. Beacon develops affordable housing across Minnesota, serving a rental clientele that is about 90 percent people of color.

“Though five years is a long time, this pacing is actually impressively fast for deeply affordable housing developments and was only possible thanks to concerted efforts by Beacon, our partners, the city, county, and state to bring all the resources to bear,” said Beacon’s press release about Bimosedaa.

Beacon has invested $30 million in Bimosedaa’s development. Nearly $7 million came from state historic tax credits. As a result, Beacon made efforts to preserve the building’s facade, such as restoring the original windows and fire escape. 

The building’s previous owner, the L.A. Rockler Fur Company, dates back to the 1920s. The company operated as furriers, with services that included fur storage, cleaning, repair, and sales. Once the company closed its doors, Beacon took the remaining furs and donated them to the Red Lake Nation to be repurposed. 

Beacon hosted a Native ceremony to bless the furs and the building before Bimosedaa opened. 

Avivo, which aims to end homelessness, will provide social services to Bimosedaa residents. Three full-time case workers will help residents access resources such as rides to doctors’ appointments and government aid, and will help them with job applications. The building’s first floor houses a few Avivo offices, including counseling rooms and in a first across all Beacon’s 20 properties, a medical exam room where Avivo will bring in medical experts and supplies. 

Nurses from different community clinics will provide tenants with free health services, such as prenatal care and treatment for wounds. 

Other services offered include mental health and substance abuse treatment. Bimosedaa tenants do not have to be sober to access the treatments, said Avivo Program Director David Jeffries, adding that that strategy is essential in helping people facing homelessness reach their goals. 

“That’s something that we’re looking to do and continue to do at Avivo and at Bimosedaa, is be non-judgmental, open-minded, inviting, supportive, informed with services and resources so people can access the care they need,” he said. 

Adrian King is a spiritual care coordinator at Avivo who will provide culturally-relevant services to Native tenants at Bimosedaa. He currently provides those services at Avivo Village, a transitional “tiny homes” community in Minneapolis. 

King leads smudging ceremonies every day, burning sacred herbs such as sage, bear root, and cedar to draw out negativity. 

Howard said Native ceremonies help her process grief and trauma, including the deaths of her older sister and other relatives. 

King also facilitates talking circles with residents to have a safe, private space for processing personal trauma. King occasionally organizes other cultural activities such as visits to sweat lodges or connecting with tribal leaders. 

Maxwell and Howard said they can see themselves living at Bimosedaa long-term because they feel safe, stable, and have privacy.   

“A lot of people shut the door on your face, and look at you differently, because you’re still using” substances, Maxwell said. “We didn’t have the help like we do down here. They really got a lot of stuff started down here for people who are on drugs. I’d say the biggest barrier was having people shut the door to your face, time and time again.” 

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