Jason Chavez
BY ED FELIEN
The City Council voted 10 to 3 on Sept. 20 to provide a $1.5 million dollar grant to Agate Housing.
Chavez wrote:
“Agate Housing and Services recently announced the closing of its 42-bed shelter program and 95-bed board and lodge program at 510 South 8th St despite trying to work with local and state entities to identify funding sources for improvements. As shelters head into a fiscal cliff, the closure of shelters and housing services will become too common. The city, county, state, and federal government have an obligation to step up.
“As encampments continue to be shuffled around our city, without notice, available shelter, or housing, we cannot afford to lose critical transitional housing and shelter services. We must do everything in our power to create more capacity, not less.
“I could not sit on the sidelines, nor could most of my colleagues as this critical service was going to permanently close, so I made a few calls, worked collaboratively with my colleagues, and began to draft a council action. I’m glad the Minneapolis City Council stepped up with a $1.5M grant to preserve this important housing service and prevent its permanent closure. I hope that other governmental partners step up to prevent the permanent closure of these needed services. Minneapolis cannot and should not do this alone.
Agate Housing
In a follow up statement, Chavez said:
“Agate Executive Director Kyle Hanson expressed gratitude for the support from the city, stating that when they made the announcement, it was the hardest day of his professional career. Not only did they have to tell residents and shelter guests that they would need to be housed elsewhere, they also had to announce employee layoffs. This grant gives Agate hope that they can reopen the 510 quickly and continue to offer a safe and stable environment for future residents.
“Building repairs will take 6-12 months, so, even with these funds, the building is still slated for closure on the October 9, 2024, timeline. If Agate secures the additional funds for a full rehab, it hopes to reopen its board and lodge program as soon as repairs are complete. In the meantime, Agate is working with local partners to ensure every current resident of the 510 building is placed in another safe shelter facility before October 9, 2024.”
An anonymous donor has agreed to match a $1.5 million grant from the city of Minneapolis to save a downtown transitional housing and shelter building from permanent closure.
Agate’s renovation plan is to ensure the building can provide shelter for the next 20 to 30 years, and hopes to start construction as soon as possible, said Agate Executive Director Kyle Hanson.
This is great news. What about the food shelf? Is there any hope to re- open to provide food for people in need.