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Remembering those who died without a home
by Art Hughes, Minnesota Public Radio
December 18, 2003

These signs, each bearing the name of a homeless person who died in Minnesota, were displayed at the 2001 homeless memorial service. (Photo courtesy of Simpson Housing Services)

Minneapolis advocates march in an annual memorial Thursday night for homeless people in Minnesota. They say 121 people without permanent shelter have died this year. The event honored 95 people last year. Organizers this year are calling attention to homeless youth, who are losing safe places to stay because of funding cuts.

Minneapolis, Minn. — There's a celebratory spread of turkey, desserts and deviled eggs at Youth Link's annual Christmas party in Minneapolis. There are balloons, smiles and hugs of recognition as some 150 of the young people the agency helps come in from the cold.

The scene is in sharp contrast to the reality for most them. The teens and young adults who find themselves on the streets soon learn to compromise their values to meet their immediate needs, according to Youth Link Director Matt Halley.

"A lot of our kids will hang out on Hennepin Ave. or Loring Park or on Lake St., and find people who will give them a place to stay or give them money or give them drugs in exchange for sex," Halley says.

	Matt Halley

Halley says these kids are not runaways. They are teens often forced to make difficult choices.

"A very common scenario is there's some kind of abuse in the home -- whether that's physical abuse or sexual abuse," Halley says. "Often, the best choice that a young person can make is to get out of the home."

In two weeks, Youth Link will have to stop handing out vouchers for the eight shelter beds it maintains for young people. The program was dealt a 15 percent funding cut from Hennepin County, and the loss of a federal grant. The agency cut five staff positions and abandoned sheltering teens. Instead, it will concentrate on the core mission of case management and education.

For the past three weeks, Kirk Foster, 18, has stayed nights at Project Foundation in north Minneapolis. To stay there he must keep a job, take classes and check out by 8:00 every morning. Foster says he's turned to the streets twice rather than stay with his family, which he says he has trouble getting along with.

"Some people look at it like, 'I don't have to stay with my parents, I don't have to do this, I can just be on my own,'" Foster says. "It can be dangerous at times. It can be scary. It's not like somewhere you want to be. It's not a vacation spot."

(Living on the street) can be dangerous at times. It can be scary. It's not like somewhere you want to be. It's not a vacation spot. - Kirk Foster, 18

Foster says if he weren't at Project Foundation, he'd probably be on the street again.

"I usually always have somewhere to go during the day. It's just at night..." he says.

Project Foundation is in financial trouble after losing state funding last summer. The agency is now considering closing one of two shelter locations, cutting its number of overnight spaces for teens in half.

Closures brought on by funding cuts are expected to decrease the number of shelter beds for youth in the Twin Cities by one-third, compared to what was available six months ago.

Monica Nilsson is shelter director at Simpson Housing Services in Minneapolis. She's also an organizer for the memorial service recognizing homeless people who have died. This year there are 121 names on the list. Typically, one in 10 of the deaths she documents are people under age 21. Nilsson believes the best way to fight adult homelessness is to get young people off the streets.

"While the number one reason people are homeless is poverty, the number two reason is if they were homeless as a youth," Nilsson says.

There would also be fewer homeless teens and adults if the were more housing choices, according to Nilsson.

"We need to recognize the fact that if our economy relies on people who earn $5.15 to $12 an hour, we have to ensure there's housing for people at those income levels," she says.

Nilsson expects elected officials and community leaders at the memorial service. She said she hopes the respect they pay to the homeless people who've died carries through for those still living.

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