St. Olaf in downtown Minneapolis purchased the Exodus Residence in the early 1990s, and in partnership with Catholic Charities, provided “supportive housing” for more than 25 years, said Michael Griffin, the parish’s director of social ministry. “But in the last couple of years, it was recognized that the building had seen some better days, and was in need of some TLC on both a grand and a small scale,” he said.
Neither the parish nor Catholic Charities had the needed capital, Griffin said, so St. Olaf started looking at ways to continue that mission, and Catholic Charities decided to develop another facility in Elliot Park. St. Olaf turned to experts in building and construction, Griffin said, who advised that “the bones of the building” are in great shape and rehabbing seemed the way to go. In addition to renovating the building, the parish may pursue adding some additional units, including on top of its limited parking area, Griffin said.
Michael Griffin
To accomplish the task, the parish is partnering with Minneapolis-based nonprofit Aeon, which Griffin said manages, owns, oversees and develops thousands of units of affordable housing around the Twin Cities.
Griffin recently joined “Practicing Catholic” radio show host Patrick Conley to discuss the parish’s plans. St. Olaf is in the design stage of what its affordable housing offering might look like, but it probably will be a combination of long-term and transitional housing, he said.
“We started with looking at a couple of hundred units,” Griffin said. “Some of them would be supportive services and others would be available based on different income levels. And now it’s morphed from a couple hundred to perhaps the possibility of maybe up to 500 units.”
A portion of the housing looks like it will be “deeply supportive” of residents, Griffin said. “So, there would be social workers and case managers and other support services for folks that would face significant obstacles.” Many of the other units likely would be based on a measure of affordability.
In addition to focusing on housing options, St. Olaf parishioners have long helped those in need in other ways, Griffin said, including with a large “Samaritan ministry” that provides a “clothing closet,” a food shelf “and other means of support for those who are experiencing homelessness or are precariously housed.”
“And so, we have served hundreds of people a month, even through the pandemic,” Griffin said. “We’ve had to reinvent ourselves about how to be able to do that safely for our guests, and for our staff and volunteers.
“To be able to serve as that living sign of Christ’s saving presence in the heart of the city, from our vantage point here on Eighth Street and between Second and Third Avenues, we serve those who are really the captains of industry, those who are visiting for special occasions for sports, for music, and we’re happy to serve those needs,” Griffin said. “But we also equally recognize the importance of serving those who, instead of spending a night in a beautiful hotel, maybe were outside, under a bridge or in a shelter.”
Griffin said part of the parish’s culture that has been developed for decades is to be able to say very matter-of-factly that it is called to vibrant worship, a rich celebration of the sacraments and reaching out to those in need in the example of Jesus.
To learn more details about the parish’s plans, and to hear the full interview, listen to this episode of the “Practicing Catholic” radio show. It airs at 9 p.m. July 9, 1 p.m. July 10 and 2 p.m. July 11 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes interviews with Joshua LaFond and Eric Menzhuber, who describe creating a large icon of St. Joseph used at a recent Catholic Father’s Day celebration, and Father Paul Hedman, who discusses how parishes can better connect with millennials.
Listen to all of the interviews after they have aired at:
soundcloud.com/PracticingCatholic
tinyurl.com/PracticingCatholic (Spotify)
Recent Comments