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Homeless shelters brace for busy winter
by Art Hughes, Minnesota Public Radio
November 27, 2003

"We are taking the individuals that are really caring and passionate and committed and saying do more and more and more." (MPR Photo/Art Hughes)

Shelter providers in the Twin Cities say demand for emergency shelters is high heading into the coldest part of the year. Emergency shelters for families are full in Ramsey County. Shelters for adults in Minneapolis are operating at maximum capacity.

Minneapolis, Minn. — Usually by this time of year, demand at some shelters begins to slow down. That's not the case this year in Ramsey County.

"Very full," according to Jim Anderson, a planner in low income and homeless services for Ramsey County. "Particularly for the beds we have available for families with children the demand has been very, very high."

He said family shelter demand in October was as high as it was six months ago, which is the typical peak period. While demand for single adults is high in winter, experts say families with children try to stay in one place during the school year, meaning a drop-off in shelter use. Anderson said if the demand continues for the more than the 232 beds the county maintains, they may have to move some people into shelters normally reserved for single adult men.

"(We need) faith communities who are willing to open their doors and host a shelter or we look at putting people in park buildings which are already heated overnight." - Monica Nilsson, Simpson Housing Services

"In general, if all of the shelter spaces are full, we don't have a lot of options available to us," Anderson said. "We do have some space that may be available at the Dorothy Day Center, but that is not our preferred solution for families with children."

Most shelter providers say it's too early to pinpoint a cause for the increased demand. A sluggish economy and tight housing markets are typical causes. Anderson said he can't say whether state budget cuts to social services are a factor.

In Hennepin County, where there's more shelter capacity, the situation is mixed.

Monica Nilsson, Shelter Director with Simpson Housing Services in Minneapolis said the approximately 700 spaces available for homeless adults are taken. She said providers are beginning to look beyond what's typically available for relief.

"Some of the things we have to now look at are finding faith communities who are willing to open their doors and host a shelter or we look at putting people in park buildings which are already heated overnight," Nilsson said.

Officials with Catholic Charities which operates the Secure Waiting Space in Minneapolis, say their shelter is filling in an hour and a half each night instead of the usual two and a half to three hours.

Hennepin County closed a make-shift overflow shelter in downtown Minneapolis this year. Monica Nilsson said providers have not been able to recover the 100 beds that were available there. In addition, two places just for teens--the Safe House in St. Paul and Project Offstreets in Minneapolis--no longer provide emergency shelter because of budget cuts.

If there's any good news, it comes from Annette Rodriguez who is Resources Manager for People Serving People. The 10-story Minneapolis building has more than 100 emergency shelter rooms and transitional apartments. Rodriguez said they have space available. In fact, demand is down about 10 percent from this time last year.

"Now, Minneapolis...apartments have opened up quite a bit," Rodriguez said. "We hope--we hope--that's the reason that we have a few less people this year than we had last year--a few less."

But Rodriguez warned of struggles looming within sight. In the past two years, People Serving People has gone from 34 paid staff to just 20. Rodriguez said many of the social service programs she relies on are clearly stretched because of state budget cuts.

"You can work unbelievable long and hard hours just to get the work done that needs to be done," She said. "So we are taking the individuals that are really caring and passionate and committed and saying do more and more and more."

Rodriguez said without relief, job burnout will claim many dedicated workers making it even harder to care for those needing help.

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