The COVID-19 pandemic is changing our community and how we take care of each other. Simpson Housing Services is committed to navigating through this crisis. With our 38-year track record, we are confident we can address the needs of people experiencing homelessness during this challenging time.
In response to the continued spread of COVID-19 in Minnesota, Simpson has implemented plans and safety measures to sustain our mission and ensure the safety of the people we serve and our staff members that work alongside them. Simpson staff work at home with the exception of essential staff at the shelter and administrative office. Public access to our administration office at 2100 Pillsbury Avenue in Minneapolis has been limited.
Our advocates are actively connecting with individuals and families by phone and email to assess their needs and offer resources, so they can shelter in place. Delivering supplies to participants’ doorsteps and instituting onsite food shelf options that allow for social distancing are other examples of how our advocates are offering critical support.
Following guidelines from the Minnesota Department of Health and Center for Disease Control and Prevention, we continue to closely monitor the situation within our shelter and housing programs and will make modifications as needed.
We are very thankful to the amazing Simpson staff team for their dedication and commitment to providing a safe home for the people we serve during this community crisis. With dignity and respect for the uniqueness of each person, our advocates engage with our guests and participants, recognize personal strengths and barriers, and secure resources to maintain safe shelter and housing.
Safety at Our Shelter
Simpson’s shelter was the first in the Twin Cities to extend its shelter hours to 24/7 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, we are providing 40 shelter guests a safe space and a temporary home. The shelter is vital to our community, and we are committed to maintaining shelter operations for our guests.
“When Governor Walz made the decision to close public spaces, we immediately knew we had to operate the shelter 24 hours a day. Typically, our shelter operates from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. and we didn’t want shelter guests to be forced out in the community each morning during this crisis,” says Simpson Executive Director Steve Horsfield.
Prior to the change in operating hours, Simpson shelter staff had already been implementing health recommendations from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Hand-washing stations were installed to allow staff and guests to frequently wash their hands and additional cleaning measures were put in place.
In partnership with Hennepin County, we moved our most vulnerable guests, including the elderly and guests with chronic health conditions, to individual rooms at local hotels to best support their health and safety. After guests transitioned to hotels, bunk assignments in the shelter were adjusted to provide social distancing for the smaller group of guests staying there. Shelter staff identified several spaces that could be used for quarantine if a guest were to become symptomatic.
Shelter staff provide a safe space and reassuring presence for guests amid this uncertain time.
“When our guests are hearing the messages, ‘Stay home. Shelter in place,’ our guests, people who are homeless, think ‘what about me? I don’t have a home.’ Through our relationship-based work, we build a foundation of trust that is helping people stay safe. We are privileged to provide a temporary home for guests now, says Shelter Manager Robert Hofmann.
Shelter Meals
For 38 years, Simpson Housing Services has relied on volunteers to provide meals at the shelter. In light of COVID-19, we made a swift decision to pause our volunteer meal serving program and hire three catering partners to cook and deliver lunch and dinner to our shelter guests. Provision Community Restaurant in the Local Whittier neighborhood will provide lunches seven days per week and Corporate Caterers of the Twin Cities and E.T. Delectables will provide evening meals on a rotating schedule. The caterers will deliver food to the shelter, and staff will plate and distribute the meals for guests. Cereal is provided for breakfast.
Operating the shelter 24 hours per day and providing meals adds $32,000 to our monthly operating budget. Faith organizations and individuals are making donations to help with these added costs. Volunteer groups who regularly prepare and serve meals at the shelter are encouraged to cover the cost of the catered meals.
Advocacy and Legislative Response
In partnership with Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless (MCH) and Homes for All-MN, the Simpson community has been actively engaged in advocacy efforts, urging MN legislators to approve funding and resources to support emergency shelters and rental assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic and for the long-term.
Leaders from Simpson, Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless and other Minnesota nonprofits serving the homeless convened in a virtual conference to press legislators to immediately provide money and resources to support shelter guests amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “Once we do get a case of COVID-19 in the shelter, it’s going to spread like wildfire, said Simpson’s Executive Director Steve Horsfield. The speakers requested rental assistance for households that will desperately need the economic support. Click here to read the Star Tribune article.
Simpson and its partners are focused on MCH’s bold 2020 legislative agenda that will ensure safe and stable housing to all Minnesotans. To read more about important advocacy efforts during this legislative session, click here.
Ways You Can Help
As we extend shelter hours and provide meals, Simpson is asking for your help to support the increase in our shelter operating budget.
Financial Gifts: If you are willing and able to support us financially, you may make a donation online, click here.
Your gift will help us operate our shelter with increased hours and will provide simple and safe catered meals.
Supply Donations: Click here to see our urgent needs for all programs during the COVID 19 outbreak.
Please note that we are temporarily not accepting donations at the shelter.
Donations will only be accepted at our administrative office by appointment. We are asking that only urgent needs to be delivered, and that all other donations be held at this time. If you would like to donate items, please contact Nahrissa at nrush@simpsonhousing.org to schedule a delivery time. A staff member will pick up items from your car and you can complete the in-kind donation form online.
We thank the Simpson community for their support during this time of shared concern. We’ll get through this time together. Please stay healthy!