Community effort improves safety at Harbor Light
The Salvation Army Harbor Light Shelter in Minneapolis is now a safer place. Through a community effort and government partnerships, there is less crime in front of the building on Currie Street, and fewer police and ambulance calls are being reported.
In 2014, The Salvation Army created the Harbor Light Safety Committee by joining forces with these five government organizations:
- Minneapolis Police Department
- Downtown Improvement District
- Downtown Council
- Hennepin County Office to End Homelessness
- Minneapolis City Attorney
Through the efforts of this committee, mobile security cameras were added outside Harbor Light, along with a permanent camera on the street.
“These cameras led to the arrest of a drug dealer and reduced the crime on Currie Street,” said Dominick Bouza, Harbor Light operations director. “We have been diligent about not allowing people to loiter on the street.”
Harbor Light has also changed its policy on when shelter guests need to leave in the morning. Now, instead of releasing hundreds of people with nowhere to go at 5:30 a.m., guests are allowed to stay until 9 a.m.
“This helps keep people from loitering in the skyways and on the streets for several hours until other public buildings are open,” said Captain Katherine Clausell, Harbor Light’s lead administrator. “There is a misconception that people experiencing homelessness are the ones creating trouble. But often, these are very vulnerable people and they are the ones being victimized.”
Harbor Light also strictly enforces a 10 p.m. curfew, and has partnered with community paramedics to reduce ambulance calls.
On any given night, Harbor Light houses about half of the homeless men and women in Hennepin County. Many of these people are struggling with mental health issues and chemical dependency, in addition to other life challenges.
“There is no question we have a challenging population here,” Bouza said. “A lot of our guests literally have nowhere else to go – it’s here, or the streets.”
With 400 people coming to Harbor Light each night for a warm bed, a shower and a hot meal, it’s a big and important job.
“These are people who would much rather be somewhere else, but sometimes life deals you a blow,” Clausell said. “People come here seeking hope and help, and I want them to feel like they’ve found a place of sanctuary.”
Harbor Light can be a life-changing place for the people who make the most of their time here. Which is why we do our best to create a safe environment, for the sake of our guests and the neighborhood.
“This is really a community issue,” Clausell said. “While The Salvation army stands ready to take the leader and shoulder the concern for the homeless population, we cannot do it alone.”
Clausell says the answer isn’t to hide the homeless problem, but continue working to seek real solutions. That means working with the available resources to equip people with life skills and help them find stable housing, while providing the safest shelter possible in the meantime.
“There is a housing issue here, and until we develop truly affordable housing in areas that have access to other social services, the homeless problem is not going away,” Clausell said.
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