►
Description
With the ongoing heat wave, City and County leaders remind everyone to take steps to stay safe. Hennepin County has an interactive map of locations where people can find relief from the summer heat.
The City, County and partners share the goal that all people gain access to permanent housing that is safe, stable and affordable over the long term. Since March 2020, the City and Hennepin County have invested $26.5 million to expand and improve shelter and outreach services. Because of these investments, Minneapolis has 200 more shelter beds, including low barrier culturally specific shelter, available today than a year ago at this time and another 36-bed facility under construction.
A
Well,
good
afternoon,
everyone
with
the
temperatures
that
are
rapidly
on
the
rise
with
over
70
percent
of
our
state
in
some
way
impacted
by
the
heat.
We
wanted
to
come
forward
with
you
all
today,
to
give
you
the
necessary
information
and
explain
the
necessary
precautions
that
you're
going
to
need
to
be
taking.
While
the
heat
advisory
does
not
indicate
that
things
are
going
to
get
anywhere
approaching.
A
The
range
that
we
saw
in
the
pacific
northwest
the
city
will
still
be
extremely
hot,
and
we
know
that
our
seniors,
and
especially
our
vulnerable
residents
and
people
experiencing
homelessness,
will
be
disproportionately
impacted.
And
so
that's
the
first
message.
We
need
everybody
to
be
looking
out
for
their
neighbor.
We
need
everybody
to
be
looking
out
for
those
that
are
most
vulnerable
in
our
city
and
make
sure
that
they
have
the
right
information
that
we're
going
to
be
able
to
provide
you
today
about
the
services
that
will
be
available.
A
We
have
a
number
of
different
jurisdictions
that
are
working
together,
including
the
city
of
minneapolis,
as
well
as
hennepin
county.
We
have
a
number
of
different
non-profit
services.
Well,
that
will
be
available
and
we've
got
steve
horsefield
from
simpson
housing.
That
is
also
here
with
us
and
he'll,
be
able
to
provide
some
information
as
well
and,
of
course,
when
we
see
extreme
weather
conditions,
those
that
are
most
impacted
by
the
weather
are
people
that
don't
have
houses,
and
so
we
want
to
look
out
for
those
of
our
own
in
our
unsheltered
community.
A
First
and
I'll
note
that
we've
put
expansive
new
funding
into
our
shelter
system
over
this
last
year,
and
that
is
really
critical
on
hot
days.
Just
like
this
to
know
the
following
things:
first,
we
have
cooling
spaces
in
the
form
of
shelters
that
will
be
available
24
hours
a
day.
Seven
days
per
week,
we've
also
substantially
expanded
the
number
of
shelters
and
shelter
beds
that
we
have
in
place
since
last
year,
with
investments
of
over
26
and
a
half
million
dollars
that
we've
put
into
our
shelter
system
and
for
outreach
services.
A
We
have
managed
to
provide
more
than
200
additional
of
beds
in
our
shelter
system
than
we
had
last
year,
200
additional
beds.
Presently
we
have
dozens
of
beds
that
are
available
in
our
shelter
system.
We
have
plenty
of
space
that
is
available
for
cooling,
especially
as
the
temperatures
rise
and
as
mr
steve
horsefield
will
tell
you
just
shortly.
We
haven't
needed
to
turn
anybody
away
from
the
connect
system
since
april
of
last
year.
A
So
I
know
that
there
are
many
organizations
and
individuals
that
are
really
committed
to
helping
our
neighbors
experiencing
homelessness
or
those
who
reside
in
encampments,
and
my
ask
for
all
of
us
engaged
in
this
work
is
to
approach
it
with
a
shared
conviction
and
a
shared
resolve
to
prioritize.
Above
all
else,
public
health
keep
people
safe
and
continue
working
towards
that
overriding
goal,
which
we
all
know
is
ultimately
providing
stable
and
permanent
housing
for
our
residents
experiencing
homelessness.
A
A
A
612-248-2350,
the
last
year
and
a
half
as
we've
seen,
has
only
deepened
some
of
the
inequities
in
our
city.
Many
of
the
fault
lines
of
disparities
have
been
further
exposed
and
we
know
that
it's
incumbent
on
all
of
us
to
do
everything
that
we
can
not
to
cover
up
those
fault
lines
but
ultimately
bridge
those
gaps
in
services,
so
that
will
help
us
to
refl
reflect
on
the
broader
reality
that
we're
experiencing,
and
that
is
most
certainly
our
shared
commitment.
A
B
As
the
mayor
mentioned,
we
have
200
more
shelter
beds
available
now
than
we
did
a
year
ago
and
those
shelter
beds
include
low
barrier
and
culturally
specific
shelter.
In
addition,
we
have
another
36
bed
facility
that
is
under
construction,
and
this
is
due
to
the
significant
investment
that
the
city
and
the
county
has
made
in
the
last
year.
B
B
B
These
new
city
and
county
staff
were
specifically
brought
on
board
to
focus
on
a
housing,
centered
approach
or
response
to
unsheltered
homelessness,
working
with
our
outreach
teams
to
engage
on
an
individual
by
individual
basis,
with
people
experiencing
unsheltered
homelessness,
to
work
on
swift,
exits
out
of
homelessness
and
into
housing.
Again,
housing
is
the
goal,
in
addition
to
the
investments
in
new
shelter
space
and
in
outreach
work.
B
The
city
continues
to
make
investments
in
new
permanent
supportive
housing
and
that,
in
that
investment
has
increased
by
a
factor
of
six.
In
the
last
few
years,
an
additional
284
permanent,
supportive
housing
units
specifically
made
available
to
people
experiencing
homelessness
were
constructed
in
and
completed
in
in
2020
and
another
350
units
are
under
construction
right
now.
B
The
city
council
tomorrow
morning
will
be
voting
on
changes
to
our
sro
sro
ordinance
to
allow
for
our
housing
continuum
and
range
of
options
to
expand
to
include
this
really
critical
housing
component
of
our
housing
continuum,
and
with
that
I
think
I'll
hand
it
back
to
the
mayor
to
introduce
david.
Thank
you.
A
Thank
you,
director,
brennan.
Now,
I'd
like
to
bring
up
the
director
of
housing,
stability
for
hennepin
county
and
mr
david
hewitt
who's
been
doing
some
really
incredible
work,
especially
over
this
last
year
and
a
half
where
so
much
of
the
focus
has
been
directly
on
him
and
his
team,
and
thank
you
so
much,
mr
hewitt,
for
your
work.
C
Thank
you
matt
good
afternoon,
everybody,
david
hewitt,
with
hennepin
county.
It
was
a
little
over
a
year
ago
that
our
homeless
system
faced
a
sudden
and
terrifying
challenge,
a
global
pandemic
that
was
most
easily
transmitted
in
concrete
settings
and
most
dangerous
to
seniors
and
vulnerable
people.
C
Ever
since
that
point,
our
local
shelter
providers
have
been
working
tirelessly
both
to
keep
people
safe
from
this
new
risk
and
to
keep
people
safe
from
the
ongoing
acute
health
and
safety
risks
posed
by
unsheltered
homelessness.
Of
course,
those
are
at
the
forefront
of
our
thinking
at
a
time
like
this.
C
Our
family
shelter
system
has
70
private
rooms
available.
As
of
this
minute,
the
phone
number
for
families
is
612-348-9410.
I
will
let
steve
horsefield
from
simpson.
Housing
speak
to
the
single
adult
system
next,
but
I
am,
I
do
want
to
also
notify
people
of
the
website.
Hennepin
dot.
U
s,
slash
call
for
anybody
that
needs
to
get
out
of
this
heat
and,
finally,
a
calling
site
near
them.
C
Finally,
we
did
pass
a
landmark
this
week
that
I
wanted
to
highlight.
We
moved
folks
who
were
senior
and
at
highest
risk
from
covid
into
pandemic
shelters
at
the
start
of
the
outbreak.
Last
november,
we
brought
online
a
temporary
case
management
team
to
help
them
move
to
permanent
housing.
This
week
we
passed
the
300th
person
from
that
group
who
moved
into
their
own
permanent
home.
C
This
is
the
goal.
This
is
what
we
work
for
earlier
this
summer,
hennepin
county
board
of
commissioners
approved
14
million
dollars
from
american
rescue
plan
funding
to
expand
that
team
to
double
its
size
over
the
coming
years.
So
we
can
help
more
and
more
people
across
our
shelter
system
across
our
unsheltered
settings
to
get
into
housing
every
single
day.
A
D
This
is
a
single
front
door
for
folks
to
access
the
single
adult
shelter
system
in
hennepin
county
and
I'm
gratified
to
say
that,
as
the
mayor
mentioned
since
april
this
year,
we
have
not
had
to
turn
anyone
away
due
to
capacity
within
within
the
single
adult
shelter
system.
So
we're
we're,
certainly
pleased
for
that.
D
I
would
say
that
we
were
still
concerned
our
shelters,
our
adult
shelter
connect
staff
was
still
concerned
with
what
my
what
things
might
be
looking
like
this
week
with
the
heat
wave
coming
on,
and
so
some
additional
outreach
was
was
outreach.
Work
was
done
to
our
shelter
providers
and
we
were
able
to
add
an
additional
16
beds
at
simpson
to
accommodate
additional
folks
who
might
need
space
this
week,
as
well
as
a
couple
of
additional
beds
at
first
covenant,
church,
a
shelter,
that's
operated
by
saint
stephen's,
human,
st
stevens
human
services.
D
The
in
addition
to
that
work,
the
the
function
of
the
adult
shelter
connect
office
has
really
been
vital
over
these
years
to
be
able
to
reduce
the
reduce
the
stress
for
folks
who
are
needing
to
seek
shelter
in
hennepin
county
and
provide
a
place
for
us
as
a
community
to
be
able
to
make
resources
available.
So
this
week,
even
in
addition
to
the
the
regular
work
of
assigning
shelter
beds
as
folks
are
calling
in
during
the
day
today
and
just
looking
for
a
place
to
get
cool
and
be
safe
during
the
heat.
D
A
A
We
recognize
that
at
least
historically,
there
have
been
a
number
of
reasons
why
people
have
not
wanted
to
use
our
shelter
system
to
name
a
few
safety
concerns
a
second
inability
to
be
with
more
than
one
or
so
family
member.
At
the
same
time
and
the
third
of
course,
it's
it's
addiction
and
different
mental
health
reasons.
A
Now
simultaneously,
we
want
to
make
sure
that
people
are
well
aware
that
we
have
shelter
beds
available.
As
mr
horsfield
mentioned,
not
a
single
person
has
been
turned
away
from
our
connectivity
line
since
april
of
last
year.
Right
now,
there
are
dozens
of
beds
available,
we've
added
over
200
beds
in
this
last
year,
through
a
26.5
million
dollar
investment.
That
includes,
of
course,
other
services
as
well,
and
as
we
move
through
this
heat
wave
right
now,
we
want
to
make
sure
people
are
aware
you
can
go
inside.
A
You
can
go
into
a
cooler
climate
and
a
cooler
condition
indoors
in
a
shelter
system
that,
by
the
way,
also
has
additional
services
that
have
been
provided
to
you
I'll.
Add
that
these
shelter
systems,
we
are
better
able
to
provide
wrap-around
services
through
a
centrally
located
node
that
you
can't
necessarily
get
at
an
encampment,
and
so
we're
asking
people
to
use
these
shelter
systems
because
it
works.
E
I
don't
know
if
there's
anybody
here
that
can
speak
to
those
outreach
persons
that
have
connected
with
those
living
in
an
encampment
to
talk
about
those
conversations.
What
are
they
like
when
they
essentially
say
we
want
to
be
out
here?
We
want
to
be
at
the
parks.
I
want
to
be
at
this
property
whatever
it
is,
can
anybody
address
what
those
conversations
are
like
go
forward.
C
Thank
you
for
the
question.
So,
as
you
heard
from
director
brennan,
the
city
has
added
contracts
with
aviva
and
american
indian
community
development
corporation
to
the
long-standing
relationship
with
stephen
stephens
human
services,
delivering
outreach
directly
to
people
in
encampments
and
other
unsheltered
settings
with
regards
to
what
is
that
conversation
like
it's
about
building
trust,
building,
rapport,
bringing
services
to
people
helping
people
identify
and
make
that
step,
whether
that's
to
a
shelter
or
indeed,
to
some
other
safe
indoor
option
that
can
be
identified,
including
direct
connection
to
permanent
housing
options?
C
I
would
add
that
when
we
talk
about
shelter
and
the
needs
of
people
who
have
expressed
those
reservations
about
coming
inside
that
the
shifts
of
the
last
year
hasn't
just
been
to
add
beds,
it
has
been
to
add
very
different
kinds
of
shelters
that
are
specifically
targeted
at
the
needs
of
people
who
have
historically
used
encampments.
Instead,
the
american
indian
community
development
corporation
homewood,
bound
shelter,
is
a
first
of
its
type
culturally
specific
shelter
run
by
the
native
american
community
for
the
native
american
community,
the
avivo
villages.
C
Shelter
was
designed
in
community
with
people
in
encampments
to
offer
the
kind
of
individual
living
spaces
that
people
said
that
they
wanted,
and
that
would
help
them
come
inside.
So
that's
been
the
effort.
It's
been
outreach.
Have
that
conversation
build
relationship,
try
to
identify
what
will
bring
people
inside
and
on
the
back
end,
create
a
greater
variety
and
quality
of
options
so
that
people
are
more
inclined
to
do
so.
A
And
I'll
add
david
said
that
far
better
than
I
could,
but
these
shelters
that
we've
added
over
this
last
year,
they
have
been
to
accommodate
some
of
the
feedback
that
we've
gotten
from
people
in
our
encampments.
Throughout
our
city.
At
the
avivo
center,
we've
made
sure
that
people
have
a
sense
of
privacy,
they're
able
to
shut
the
door
they're
able
to
have
their
own
space.
It
provides
a
sense
of
privacy
and
individualization
that
gives
people
the
dignity
that
they
deserve.
A
We've
got
the
culturally
sensitive
and
specific
shelter
in
homeward
bound
for
our
american
indian
community,
which
is
also
proven
to
be
really
successful
as
well,
and
so
and
it's
not
that
the
services
aren't
provided
to
individuals
in
their
encampment
in
the
encampments.
They
certainly
are
provided,
in
fact,
there's
a
ton
of
work
that
is
happening
literally
right
now
to
make
sure
that
people
throughout
our
city,
regardless
of
where
you're
living,
have
the
necessary
and
direct
service
that
they
need.
It's
just
easier
to
provide
it
when
it's
at
a
central
at
a
centralized
location.
E
I've
been
speaking
with
councilman
fletcher
regarding
his
war.
There's
a
pretty
big
encampment
in
the
sheridan
community
right
now
says:
there's
drug
use.
I
have
businesses
that
say
that
drug
use
is
in
their
establishments
in
the
bathrooms,
specifically
in
the
bathrooms.
It's
a
shared
bathroom
with
other
businesses.
There's
a
pretty
big
fire
recently.
E
A
There
well
the
situation
that
we're
seeing
over
at
the
encampment
by
sheridan
is
not
unique.
We've
seen
it
at
a
number
of
encampments
throughout
our
city,
and
the
truth
is,
is
that
once
encampments
get
to
a
certain
size,
we've
seen
that
there
are
safety
concerns,
whether
that's
around
human
trafficking
or
drug
trafficking,
whether
that's
around
violence
or
fires.
A
These
are
aspects
that
do
in
fact
cause
pretty
severe
safety
risks.
In
addition,
and
that's
to
the
individuals
living
at
the
encampment,
in
addition
to
the
safety
risks
caused
to
the
the
people
in
the
surrounding
neighborhood,
and
so
of
course,
I'll
be
working
directly
with
council
member
fletcher.
On
that
specific
issue,
any
specific.
E
F
Who
don't
necessarily
have
access
to
that
map
all
the
time,
maybe
not
access
to
internet
or
mobile
phones?
What
is
your
strategy
for
informing
them
of
where
these
locations
are
where
they
can
go
and
is
there?
Are
there
any
like
rules
of
thumb
that
you
would
recommend
for
people
to,
like?
I
don't
know,
go
to
a
library
or
go
to
these
specific
buildings
that
are
like
high
capacity
that
people
could
remember.
A
That's
a
great
question,
so
we've
got
a
number
of
different
facets
that
are
available,
including
outreach
workers
that
can
go
directly
to
some
of
these
encampments
to
let
people
know
where
resources
can
be
made
available
to
them.
Of
course,
we
have,
it
are,
are
providing
information
about
about
these
resources
available
on
our
social
media,
page
internet,
as
well
as
the
news
which
we're
doing
right
now,
but
sometimes
that
doesn't
get
to
all
of
the
individuals
that
need
the
help
in
a
timely
basis.
B
Is
storage?
I
don't
know
if
any
of
my
colleagues
can
can
respond
to
that,
but
but
that
that
is
that.
That
is
a
concern
that
I
think
folks
have.
We
have
when
we
have
been
out
asking
folks
to
leave
encampments
when
we've
closed
encampments.
We've
we've
certainly
provided
storage
options
for
people
who
are
not
able
to
take
their
belongings
with
them.
So
that's
something
that
we
we
are
doing
in
any
any
time
when
we're
asking
people
to
leave
encampments
through
through
a
closure.
E
C
Is
that
again,
looking
at
the
transformation
in
shelters,
the
new
shelters,
and
indeed
existing
shelters,
have
added
storage
space,
because
this
was
one
of
the
concerns
and
one
of
the
reasons
that
we
had
heard
possessions
being
a
barrier
for
potentially
coming
inside
if
there
was
nowhere
to
safely
store
belongings.
So
the
new
shelters
and
again
of
evo
village's
home,
would
bound
me
examples
of
this.
Very
specifically
have
storage
set
up
for
everybody
coming
in
and
then
even
the
existing
shelters.