Downtown Duluth getting outreach worker over NAACP opposition

DULUTH – The city is hiring a new downtown street outreach worker over organized opposition from the local NAACP.

The $300,000, three-year program will be paid for with federal American Rescue Plan money and will be overseen by a nonprofit business group.

"It's a successful model that is being used in downtowns across the country," said Kristi Stokes, president of the Greater Downtown Council, which requested the position with the backing of city administration. "We are really hitting a tipping point. We all want a downtown that is safe and welcoming for all, and this is just a piece of the puzzle."

Opposition centered around the source of the money for the position — $2.1 million set aside for a communitywide crisis response pilot program that is being developed by a group of community members and city leaders.

"If you don't support our grassroots efforts with these community groups, you no longer get to say you are an ally of the NAACP," said Classie Dudley, president of the Duluth Branch NAACP, who compared the opposition to "going against doctors and scientists speaking on COVID-19 protocols."

Council members ultimately found the need to offer additional help to folks who need it downtown — be they unhoused, having mental health crises or facing addiction — was "not an either/or, this is an 'and,' " said Council Member Janet Kennedy, a former vice president of the local NAACP.

"When people are asking me to vote this down, you're asking me to say no to people who are on the streets who are in crisis," Kennedy said. "At the core of all of this are people who need our help and who are in crisis."

The vote was 7-2, with Council Members Terese Tomanek and Joel Sipress voting against the measure.

The outreach worker would be hired and trained by Block by Block, the Kentucky-based company that staffs the downtown Clean and Safe Team and has operations in dozens of cities.

Work to develop the community crisis response pilot program will continue.

Brooks Johnson • 218-491-6496