Paul Meringdol found himself at Avivo Village's tiny-home shelter in the North Loop neighborhood of Minneapolis for the first time Tuesday night after he was expelled from the Near North homeless encampment, as well as from the protest encampment in front of City Hall.
Avivo Village celebrates moving 100 people from the streets to permanent housing
The first-in-Minneapolis tiny home shelter opened in 2020 in response to feedback from people who would rather live in tents than use traditional congregant shelter.
October 13, 2022 at 11:44PM
Avivo was a pleasant surprise with its private rooms, fresh bedding, new shampoo and socks and underwear waiting, he said.
It also features a record of success. Avivo Village opened in 2020 with $3.6 million from the city of Minneapolis. It has served 326 people since, and recently surpassed 100 people placed in permanent housing.
During a celebration of that milestone on Thursday evening, Emily Bastian, Avivo's vice president of Ending Homelessness, said Avivo has also reversed 70 overdoses — all successful — connected 62 people to health care, seen the birth of 12 babies to mothers given prenatal care and hosted eight dogs and seven cats.
The low-barrier, harm reduction shelter differs from most traditional shelters in that has 100 private rooms, allows pets and substance use on site, provides mental health services and reserves rooms up to 18 days if someone leaves for a short time.
Case managers also help residents transition to permanent housing that they can hold down depending on their individual challenges and needs. Some people return to the streets, but others are reunited with family.
"This team knows that everyone deserves housing and knows that there is housing in our community and that we are a community that can house everyone," Bastian said.
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, Hennepin County Commissioners Angela Conley and Irene Fernando, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and City Council Member Jeremiah Ellison were also in attendance.
"For the first time in like 12 years, I finally have stable housing, a lease that I'm a part of," said Roy Fryeharding, who stayed at Avivo for five months starting in June and was placed in permanent housing a few days ago. "So to the cooks, to the staff members, to everybody that's been a resident at Avivo, this is way different than anything that you can put together on just like a whim. That's how I know it's going to work and it's been working."
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