Homelessness Problem in Bemidji and Surrounding Areas -- Final News Report

Tara Hjermstad

Homelessness Problem in Bemidji and Surrounding Areas

Growing at a Rapid Pace

     Driving into the parking lot of the Paul Bunyon mall, there is a man standing with a sign that reads, "Need money for food." Cars drive by honking and waving, very few of them actually stopping to hand the man money. One car stopped and handed him the meals they had just gotten from the McDonald's drivethrough.

     Homelessness in the Bemidji area has long been prevelant, but has really been increasing in the past few years. Homelessness does not necessarily mean rough, pan-handling feed-the-pigeons type either; many that are homeless in Bemidji have a place to stay, just not a place to call their own.  

Photo from Federal Register.com

     Bemidji and the surrounding areas offer many resources for those that are homeless; a few of these being: homeless shelters in Bemidji, Cass Lake and Red Lake, People's Church in Bemidji, Salvation Army, Churches United and St. Phillips church. Most of these, with the exception of a few of the local homeless shelters, require a background check and have a no drug, alcohol or violence policy. If any of these three things occur, immediate withdrawl is the result. According to statistics, these shelters are the busiest from the months of October through April, due to the unbearable northern Minnesota weather.

     Anyone with a past of drugs, alcohol or violence, any felonies or criminal charges, will have a tough time finding a shelter to stay at, often resulting in them "crashing" with a friend or relative without a broken past. This is often the case for homeless felons and/or child predators, since they are not allowed in these programs. There is, however, a building in the Bemidji area that offers a spot for those that are without shelter because of things like this. 

     Kami Kelm, child protection case manager, previously a job counselor at the job shelter and who helped homeless youth, said, "Bemidji is unique in the networking that happens, as far as providers here; the professionals do a nice job, do not make people sit in a 'box' and work with each case individually case. She also used to work with Evergreen, a group that works with the area's youth, who are surprisingly ranged from 16-21 years of age -- half of this age group being college-age "youth."

     Kelm encourages families or anyone that is homeless to contact Bycap, an agency in Bemidji that has every resource available in the Bemidji area for homelessness. They are in charge of getting contacts and reaching out to other sources to get the homeless back on track to finding shelter.

     She also said that in order to get into any programs that will begin the process of finding shelter can be very difficult; the requirements can often be too much for a person applying. She suggested Community Resource Connections, also called CRC, as an option as well, saying that they are the "gurus" of resources of all the programs offered.

     Sometimes, there is room and funding available to assist in immediate housing, however, if a person needs long-term living facilities, there is a process in doing so. First, they must apply and meet with a financial worker to determine the reason(s) for their homelessness.

     There is often times requirements, such as: must be searching for a job or have a job within so many months of approval, providing proof of income, proving residents in the household - including children - and what is being done to positively change the situation. These programs are designed to teach money saving and the responsibility of bills. After they are referred to the workforce center, down the road they are introduced to the Minnesota welfare programs with a job counselor to accomodate for these hardship programs.

     Kelm said that not all homeless in Bemidiji are jobless. It is common for families to have two-incomes, such a mother and father, that are both working full time, but simply cannot afford daycare and rent, and therefore, having to prioritize between the two, thus rent having to be cut.

     If there is a situation with children involved, according to Cathy Brook, child protection social intake worker, it is judged by the well-being of the children. As long as the children are warm, have good ventilation and a roof over their head with a loving parent(s), they are typically not taken, unless by the request of the parent admitting that they are unable to care for the child(ren) at the time. If that's the case, there are resources offered to the parent(s) until they are able to have the children returned under healthier circumstances. Social Services does work toward having the child(ren) in school, and will offer the parents options on how to make that happen.

     Glenda Duhammel, adult services intake worker, is available for anyone over the age of 18 with questions about any services available and the requirements that must be met in order to qualify. There are specific people that she works with: those with developmental issues, long-term care (elderly) and those entering nursing homes, those with mental issues and anyone else ages 18-65 that don't fit into any of the above categories, but has any sort of issue that is refusing them of work, such a MS, brain injury or a car accident. There is also a chemical dependency category, but she is not a part of this. She did not want to comment on where exactly are the "spots" in town to find the homeless, instead said that the local street services and police department "know where they can be found."

     Duhammel stated that in order to apply for any services, they must first be elligable for Medical Assistance. She noted that many of those that are applying, often times have other burdens they're facing too, such as: chemical or alcohol dependency, mental illness or don't own vehicles, and these issues must be addressed as well. They don't always have to be looking for a job, but if they are unemployed and seeking assistance, they must have a legitimate reason for it, such as a doctor's note, to get by without a job and still receive assistance.

     She also said that many that are re-applying have been turned down due to changes in legislation. An example being, in order to apply for a services, a person must be elligable for Medical Assitance, however, the person applying may be elligable for only prescriptions from MA, but not the actual medical insurance, therefore blocking them from any other services that they are seeking.

     If the proper proof of income or requirements for these services is not provided, the income being received by the applicant can be sanctioned, or decreased or even taken away.

     Brook, who used to work in the Sherriff's office, said that about nine years ago there used to be a warming room just inside the front entrance of the station, and often times at night there would be homeless people in there trying to warm up. They were not asked to leave, unless they were causing trouble. This is the same with most of the businesses in town that are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week; unless there are problems coming from it, homeless people on their property has not really been an issue.

    Contrary to what some may think, being homeless is not illegal, as long as there is no trespassing and the same rules and laws that apply to everyone else in the neighborhood are being followed. Although, Brook said that some break the law just so they can be put in jail where at least they're given "three square meals and a warm bed."

     According to Kelm, homelessness is actually a choice for some; the reasoning behind this decision is different from one case to the other. She added that instead of handing out cash to those pan-handling, give them a free meal or donate the money to the local homeless shelters.

     There are homeless shelters in Bemidji, as well as Cass Lake and Red Lake. In order to work with most of the services on the reservation, it is required to be Native American and most often, live on the reservation. The Beltrami County has branches in both Cass Lake and Red Lake that can be used under certain circumstances for those living in the city of Bemidji. 

     There are several shelters and resources in the Bemidji area that offer help to those in need. Shelters around the community want to spread the word of how to help and what the community can do to solve the problem of homelessness in our area

Photo of the Village of Hope, homeless shelter
photo from Village of Hope website