{"id":12427,"date":"2023-03-15T14:20:23","date_gmt":"2023-03-15T14:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/?p=12427"},"modified":"2024-10-16T17:50:21","modified_gmt":"2024-10-16T17:50:21","slug":"meeting-the-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/2023\/03\/15\/meeting-the-needs\/","title":{"rendered":"Meeting the needs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Katie Clark<\/b>, associate professor of nursing and executive director of Augsburg Health Commons (Photo by Courtney Perry)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In separate efforts to help unhoused people in Minneapolis, two members of the Augsburg community take a similar approach.<\/p>\n

They ask a simple question: \u201cWhat do you need?\u201d<\/p>\n

Then, they work to provide services based on people\u2019s self-identified necessities.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about meeting people where they\u2019re at,\u201d said Katie Clark \u201910 MAN, \u201914 DNP<\/strong>, associate professor of nursing and executive director of Augsburg Health Commons, which provides free supplies and nurse consultations to anyone in need. Many people who access these services are unhoused or experiencing housing insecurity.<\/p>\n

\u201cOftentimes, health care providers are not trusted by people living on the street who feel like they might be stereotyped or judged when they enter a facility,\u201d Clark said. \u201cWe need to ask people what their experiences are, what they deem necessary, and why they aren\u2019t able to get what they need.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Emily Bastian ’07 MSW<\/b> (Courtesy photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Emily Bastian \u201907 MSW<\/strong> works with a similar philosophy\u2014she led the creation of an entire homeless shelter based on asking people about their specific needs. Avivo Village, which opened in December 2020, has received widespread attention because of its unique concept.<\/p>\n

Bastian, who is the nonprofit Avivo\u2019s vice president of ending homelessness, said she and her team went to an encampment in a Minneapolis park. \u201cWe asked them, what would it take for them to come indoors? And many of the things that they said are things that we are able to put into practice at Avivo Village.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Creating a shelter<\/h2>\n
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The Avivo Village team (Courtesy photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Unlike most traditional homeless shelters, Avivo Village lets residents come and go as they please. Residents are not separated by gender; they can have pets, and they can drink legally. All these things are allowed in response to Bastian\u2019s conversations with people living outdoors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want people to know that we care about them and that we\u2019re not shaming them for the choices that they\u2019re making, because they are the ones living their life, not us,\u201d Bastian said.<\/p>\n

Avivo Village is made up of 100 tiny homes meant to be temporary housing as residents work to find a more permanent place to live. So far, more than 110 people have successfully moved on from Avivo Village into permanent housing.<\/p>\n

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Avivo workers visit an encampment. (Courtesy photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In addition to temporary shelter, Avivo provides thorough case management to help people find housing. This includes services aimed at addressing some of the root causes of homelessness. Avivo offers transitional recovery housing, which houses people who are enrolled in the organization\u2019s chemical dependency treatment program. Avivo also provides mental health services.<\/p>\n

\u201cCase management supports people through all the bumps in the road as they\u2019re learning to be a renter or as they\u2019re experiencing some other trauma or barriers,\u201d Bastian said, \u201cbecause we truly, truly, truly believe that everyone deserves housing and everyone is housable.\u201d<\/p>\n

A range of services<\/h2>\n

While Health Commons does not provide housing, it offers many services to support unhoused people. Like Bastian, Clark works to create a place where people feel accepted and safe while asking for help.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, people simply hang out at the Health Commons location in downtown Minneapolis\u2019 Central Lutheran Church.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re experiencing homelessness, oftentimes you can\u2019t go places and hang out without showing proof of why you need to be there or without being harassed,\u201d Clark said. \u201cSo, sometimes people need a place where they can just sit down, take their shoes off, and be part of what\u2019s happening.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_single_image image=”12452″ add_caption=”yes”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_single_image image=”12453″ add_caption=”yes”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_single_image image=”12454″ add_caption=”yes”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The free supplies offered at Health Commons include socks, hygiene products, and diapers. Visitors can meet with Augsburg nursing students for basic health services such as having their blood pressure checked or asking questions about medical conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not providing clinical care or diagnosing, but more just bridging the gap between meeting people where they are and connecting them with services if they deem it necessary,\u201d Clark said.<\/p>\n

A place to learn<\/h2>\n
\"\"
Amy Nelson<\/strong>, assistant professor of nursing, helps a Health Commons visitor with a hand injury. (Photo by Courtney Perry)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Health Commons is not only a place where people can go to learn about health care\u2014it\u2019s also a place where any Augsburg student can learn about serving a wide range of needs, including the needs of unhoused people. More than 1,600 students have volunteered at Health Commons in the 30 years that it\u2019s been open.<\/p>\n

\u201cHealth care providers often begin to have biases or might actually stereotype people who are unhoused. So, Health Commons is really a first step for nursing, physician assistant, or other students to unpack those moments and challenge biases,\u201d Clark said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe complexities of peoples\u2019 circumstances are better understood as students build relationships with people living on the streets,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s faculty-led. Students say having those real-life experiences has been very meaningful, especially when they see faculty model it as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clark encourages students to practice compassion in all their interactions with people who visit Health Commons. She has even talked with some student volunteers who have experienced homelessness themselves. \u201cThey often share that they find value in the approaches here, that shared community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

As a former Augsburg student, Bastian said her education in the university\u2019s social work program informs the work that she does today.<\/p>\n

\u201c(One) thing that Augsburg really drilled into my head, and the master\u2019s of social work program very much so, is the conversation around privilege, the willingness to do that tough work personally to recognize what my own privileges are, how that impacts how I see the world and how the world sees me, and in turn my responsibility based on that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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Katherine Martin<\/strong>, assistant professor of nursing (left), and Physician’s Assistant Program Director Vanessa Bester<\/strong> (middle) help visitors with foot care at Health Commons. (Photo by Courtney Perry)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Getting involved<\/h2>\n

Both Clark and Bastian shared ways that people can get involved in serving the Twin Cities\u2019 unhoused population.<\/p>\n

Anyone is welcome to volunteer at the Health Commons Central Lutheran Church location, but priority is given to Augsburg students. Volunteers can sign up on the Health Commons website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Health Commons also takes monetary donations<\/a> online. To donate supplies, contact Clark at clarkk@augsburg.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Information about volunteering with or donating to Avivo can be found on the organization\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf people don\u2019t feel comfortable or don\u2019t know what to do, donating is a good way to start,\u201d Bastian said. \u201cI would also say that volunteering somewhere you can have interactions that feel at a safe level for what you\u2019re ready for is also a great way to get involved and to help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Top image: Katie Clark and graduate nursing student Claudia Rubio-Mendoza help Health Commons visitors pick out free items that they need. (Photo by Courtney Perry)<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In separate efforts to help unhoused people in Minneapolis, two members of the Augsburg community take a similar approach. They ask a simple question: \u201cWhat do you need?\u201d Then, they work to provide services based on people\u2019s self-identified necessities. \u201cIt\u2019s about meeting people where they\u2019re at,\u201d said Katie Clark \u201910 MAN, \u201914 DNP, associate professor <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":12448,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-12427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-stories","tag-winter-2022-23"],"wps_subtitle":"Auggies work to serve Twin Cities residents without homes","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12427"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12427\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13425,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12427\/revisions\/13425"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}