Beacon Response to Concerns at Kimball Court
In support of our commitment to inform our community and stakeholders on progress at Kimball Court, here is a summary of updates as of December 7, 2022:
- Monthly resident meetings have been held, led by our service provider Avivo, to ensure resident concerns can be expressed and understood by the organizational partners supporting the building.
- We have engaged in a refined sharps management protocol to ensure regular and ongoing clean-up on and around our property of any sharps that would pose a hazard to the neighborhood or residents.
- Property improvements including refurbishing and repainting are going on throughout the building.
- Structural work has been completed on the exterior façade of the building.
Beacon and our partners remain committed to supporting residents at Kimball Court and being a good neighbor in our community. Thank you to all the neighbors who have expressed their desire to work toward solutions to end homelessness and alleviate Minnesota’s housing crisis.
Original post, October 7, 2022:
Beacon is a nonprofit that exists to meet community needs for deeply affordable, supportive housing that provides our residents, the majority of whom have experienced homelessness, with the tools and supports they need for housing stability. Services at Kimball Court are tailored to the individual and focus on harm reduction, community connection, health, and more.
We acknowledge and regret that our operations of Kimball Court have not been up to our own high standards, and that we did not correct these issues as quickly as we should have. As an organization, we have attempted past investments and mitigation tactics to address immediate and underlying concerns. Unfortunately, these tactics have not sustained successful outcomes. We are committed to taking all the actions necessary to achieve successful outcomes.
Beacon and our partners have committed to the following strategies to improve operational outcomes:
Currently implementing:
- Contracting with a new security company that has experience working with residents who have been chronically homeless;
- Maintaining zero-tolerance policy for drug dealing on the property through responsive enforcement by our security company;
- Good neighbor policies for residents and tightened guest policies;
- Security provider enforcement of these rules and policies for our residents. Violation of these policies can lead to termination of residency;
- Regular clean-ups of the property and its vicinity;
- Ongoing, essential repairs to the property;
- Increased coordination with St. Paul Police Department.
Implementation within the next 90 – 120 days
- Additional service staff will be hired to broaden residents’ access to services and harm reduction support.
Committed Partnership Model
- Beacon works with some of the strongest supportive service providers in the Twin Cities. We have been working with our service partner, Avivo, at Kimball Court to address security and health concerns from residents and neighbors and will continue to do so.
- Kimball Court was able to secure additional resources from the State of Minnesota to improve our harm reduction model, which requires more staffing to meet our standards of service.
- Beacon has been working creatively with the Saint Paul Police Department to address challenges within and outside of the building. Beacon recently offered a vacant rental unit within Kimball Court to the Saint Paul Police Department (SPPD) to monitor any drug dealing happening within and outside the property. While they were unable to take us up on our offer, we remain committed to creatively addressing challenges in partnership with the SPPD.
- We do not tolerate drug dealing on the Kimball Court property. We are committed to enforcing this core condition of residency in concert with our security contractor, our property management company, and in collaboration with the police.
In light of the complexity of issues that we face at Kimball Court, we will need the full 90 – 120 days to show ample evidence of improvements that our residents deserve.
There is an intersection of concerns for safety and well-being with issues of poverty, health, underemployment, and the justice system, all of which are tied to housing insecurity and stemming from or amplified by systemic inequities. External forces such as the eviction moratorium and resulting delays in court proceedings to process evictions have hampered our ability to take action against residents who threaten community well-being. Each of these aspects impacting the community intensify the challenges that organizations like Beacon face.
We recognize that many of the issues are bigger than Kimball Court. An opioid epidemic, increased crime, rising levels of homelessness due to lack of public resource support, dislocation of encampments, persistent poverty, and more are neighborhood, community, and ultimately societal problems. We also recognize that Kimball Court had become part of the problem in the Hamline Midway community. Instead, we want to be part of the solution. Beacon is able to directly impact the conditions and issues at Kimball Court. We won’t solve the broader concerns alone, but want your collaboration in the community.
Beacon is committed to providing residents with excellent quality homes and being a good neighbor, and as such is committed to improving operations at Kimball Court. Beacon is grateful for the residents and neighbors of Kimball Court who have raised their voices out of a desire to improve our community and ensure it is one where needs are met and security and stability are enjoyed by all.
Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative
info@beaconinterfaith.org
