As temps drop, Indigenous-led warming center provides shelter and safety in Minneapolis
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After checking into the warming center with a volunteer, people are directed to a large room inside the Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center. Tables are set up, and a warm breakfast is ready to be served.
“We got eggs, and we got sausage and hash browns and oatmeal. They like their oatmeal. So, I cook oatmeal every time I cook,” said Margaret Percy, a volunteer at the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center’s warming center.
Last year, the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center, or MIWRC, opened a warming center in response to frigid winter weather. The warming center provides 20 beds overnight in subzero temperatures.
Percy jumped into action and began volunteering at the center regularly, and she is still seen in the kitchen wearing a purple apron with the MIWRC logo. Her name is embellished in cursive on the apron.
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“I come daily, pretty much daily, to help out,” she said.
For Percy, this last year of cooking at the center has been filled with what she says are fun memories.
“I love talking with these people. They tell me stuff. [I] sit there and visit with them. They like that — somebody to visit with, you know, that's going to listen,” Percy said.
Since receiving $100,000 in emergency funding from the city of Minneapolis last year, CEO Ruth Buffalo said the center has been open every Tuesday for what’s called “Resource Connect.”
“Once the weather warmed up, we kept Tuesday Resource Connect going from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. We offer breakfast and lunch, and housing support services are on site,” Buffalo said.
Another service offered on Tuesdays is a mobile medical unit that provides basic checkups, exams and referrals. Buffalo said that with the added resources, the center has seen up to 200 people on Tuesdays.
In 2023, nearly half of Native Americans experiencing homelessness in Minnesota lived in Hennepin County.
"That shows a great need, and it's people from all walks of life that we're taking care of,” Buffalo said, adding that the resources offered at the center are open to anyone in need.
Turquoise Dickenson is among the 20-plus volunteers with the warming center. She began volunteering last year after attending a Resource Connect day.
“I like to help out Margaret, mostly in the dining area. I help clean up, I help serve,” she said.
Dickenson said she has been sober for about five years, and volunteering at the center is a way for her to give back.
“To be able to help somebody and know what it's like, because I've been in your shoes, you know what I mean? I love that. I love when people reach out and want the help,” Dickenson said.
While volunteers and staff have expressed the need for the warming center and its resources, Buffalo said funding is a concern. Money from the city of Minneapolis was projected to fund the warming center for a year, which has now passed.
The MIWRC applied for another grant, though additional funding may be needed to sustain resources in the long term.
“It would be great to expand and have more staff, but we rely heavily on volunteers. And so, yeah, we're still not out of the woods yet, or in the clear,” Buffalo said.
Another concern is the heightened immigration enforcement activity within Minneapolis, including recent confrontations and detainments of Indigenous community members.
Buffalo shared that the resource center has taken precautions to keep people safe, such as holding staff legal rights training and posting signage around the resource center, stating the MIWRC is private property.
“We are in strong partnership with different community partners to make sure that everybody stays safe and protected,” Buffalo said.
The MIWRC and partner group, Nenookaasi Ozhige, recently announced a partnership with Avivo Village, a warming shelter in the North Loop of Minneapolis.
She said that among the partnering organizations, they have been able to double the warming center’s capacity with 20 overflow beds. If beds are full at the MIWRC, they will work to help transport people over to Avivo Village.
Buffalo said the resource center has been grateful for community and partnership support in the last year.
“It's just really good to see people come together and continue to be a part of something bigger than themselves, and to really strive to be a good relative, a good ancestor,” Buffalo said.
The MIWRC’s warming center will be open through the weekend.
Chandra Colvin covers Native American communities in Minnesota for MPR News via Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.
