An estimated 13,300 Minnesota youth on their own experience homelessness over the course of a year, according to Wilder Research. That includes an estimated 5,800 minors ages 17 and younger on their own, and 7,500 young adults ages 18 to 24.
Housing experts explained the importance of culturally appropriate housing and wraparound services at shelters during a roundtable discussion Thursday in Duluth.
There needs to be a marriage of both justice and kindness. Justice is fair and reasonable, and it’s also about rights and can feel rigid and cold. Kindness is generous and full of mercy, but can also create dependency. We need both working together to make a difference.
The Duluth house is part of a growing network of medical respite centers that now numbers more than 130 around the country — including four in Minnesota. More than half have opened in just the past 10 years.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported 6,461 Minnesotans experienced sheltered homelessness during the designated point in time in 2021, up from 5,991 in 2020.
The COVID pandemic also presents challenges. Advocates say many people experiencing homelessness have chronic health conditions which put them at grave risk for contracting the disease.
