Businesses discuss unhoused along 34th

About 20 business owners from the 34th Ave. area in Nokomis East attended a July 10 meeting to discuss unhoused people sleeping in storefront doorways, needles on the sidewalk, drug use in bathrooms, property crimes, and people experiencing behavioral health issues.
Present at the backyard meeting hosted by a neighbor were the Ward 12 City Council office, a crime prevention specialist, the Third Precinct’s embedded social worker, and Hennepin County’s Streets to Housing team.
The ward 12 office has responded to the issues on a case-by-case basis, linking city and county offices. "I felt we needed to do more to engage with the neighbors and businesses in the area, and uplift the issues to city officials to help take action to address concerns," said Ward 12 Council Member Aurin Chowdhury.
"My office held this meeting to gain a deeper understanding of what they experience day-to-day. It was also important for us to bring everyone together in one space, and consider some tangible actions we can take together."
Chowdhury observed that she has noticed an uptick of these issues throughout ward 12 this summer. "The mayor's administration's policies to address homelessness have only led to pushing people around to different parts of the city," she said. "We need a humane and dignified comprehensive plan and response to actually reduce homelessness that does the work of helping with housing and treatment more effectively. The conversation we had with businesses pointed out that these issues will remain to be symptoms of the city of Minneapolis not yet having a comprehensive solution to unsheltered homelessness and the opioid epidemic, which are often interlinked."
She pointed out that business owners said that they felt confused about who to call when someone is experiencing homelessness and what resources are available. "We shared with the Hennepin Streets to Housing team the importance of sending out a street outreach team, and reporting to 311 and 911. We shared about the 24/7 behavioral crisis response teams that anyone can call and request if they are seeing someone in crisis," said Chowdhury.
Moving forward, the ward 12 office will be working to ensure Minneapolis Homeless Outreach Team and Hennepin Streets to Housing have a presence in East Nokomis. They are working on a one-pager for resources local businesses to have and share with those who need and neighbors, and will consider other action steps to improve livability.
"I have informed the Director of Regulatory Services and the Deputy City Operations Officer of these concerns and the outcome of this meeting," said Chowdhury. "Ultimately, this is an ongoing conversation and we will continue to work with the businesses and neighbors in the area to improve the situation, and I will continue to advocate for a comprehensive plan to address unsheltered homelessness and the opioid epidemic across all levels of government."