Providing Thanksgiving Meals to People Experiencing Homelessness

Each Thanksgiving, many people have food on their minds — but what does this holiday look like for people who don’t have reliable access to food or housing? We spoke with Ms. Bev, chef at the Minneapolis Opportunity Center, to hear about how she serves people experiencing homelessness each Thanksgiving. After nearly twenty years with Catholic Charities, Ms. Bev has a reputation for her custom menus and her holiday meals are always a hit.

Over a week in advance, guests “started asking what I was going to cook for the holiday,” shared Ms. Bev. And after years of preparing Thanksgiving meals for hundreds of hungry Opportunity Center guests, it was no surprise that Ms. Bev already had a plan. “The menu this year is turkey and dressing, green bean casserole, fruit salad, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, assorted pies, punch, and coffee,” she explained.

One longtime volunteer, Anne Gallick, comes to the Minneapolis Opportunity Center each year the week of Thanksgiving with one goal: to peel all the potatoes. She helped peel potatoes by chance her first year and decided that it would be her specialty. She attends each year with her own peeler in hand — typically preparing more than 50 pounds of potatoes. Similarly, the Deeg family has a tradition of volunteering to come in each year and carve turkeys. Ms. Bev will start her morning at the Opportunity Center at 4:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving, where she will finish preparing 50 pounds of green beans, 50 pounds of stuffing, and guide her volunteers as they carve into 16 turkeys.

Our Hearts to Your Soles: An Important Tradition at Catholic Charities

For 17 years, Our Hearts to Your Soles has partnered with Catholic Charities Twin Cities and other community partners to bring high-quality footwear, socks, and foot care to our Twin Cities neighbors who are experiencing homelessness. Each year, volunteers from Silverman Ankle & Foot, and Red Wing Shoes work with Catholic Charities staff to fit and distribute hundreds of pairs of socks and shoes. Each year, the event takes place in November as cold weather begins to set in. “We’re grateful for our long-time partnership with the Our Hearts to Your Soles team of volunteers,” said John Marston, Interim President & CEO, Catholic Charities Twin Cities. “The group provides not only critically needed shoes and footcare to our neighbors in need, but they also bring a caring and generous spirit to this community event.”

Now in its 17th year in the Twin Cities, this remarkable event returned to the Saint Paul Opportunity Center providing a wide range of benefits to participants, including:

Deb’s Story: Building a Home at Dorothy Day Place

Deb is an independent single mother, veteran, and Twin Cities native. Deb and her dog Minnie live together in an apartment at Dorothy Day Residence, a Catholic Charities Twin Cities supportive housing program in St. Paul. The two of them have lived at Dorothy Day since 2019 when the building was renovated.

Deb’s journey has been marked by incredible strength in the face of overwhelming adversity. Her life turned upside down about 10 years ago when the person she was living with withheld rent payments leading to an eviction and homelessness. Deb has kept her struggles hidden, working seasonal jobs and moving around between shelters.

“I didn’t know about the resources that were available for the five years that I was homeless,” Deb explained. By 2019, she had reached a breaking point and decided to leave the unhealthy relationship with her partner at the time and move away from him. This ultimately left her with nowhere to go. So, Deb found her way to Catholic Charities Higher Ground Shelter in St. Paul.

Sandra Johnson’s Experience with Homelessness as an Older Adult

Sandra Johnson’s motto is, “I shall pass this way but once; any kindness I can do, let me do it now, for I shall not pass this way again.” And once you get to know her, you realize that she truly lives her life by those words.

More than anything else, Sandra cares deeply for other people. Family comes first for her, but that kindness also shines in her lifelong volunteerism and career in customer service.

Yet, Sandra’s life has also been full of battles. She lost her husband to a tragic accident at a young age, raised her four young children on her own, and fought cancer and chronic illnesses more than once. When her former employer outsourced most of their customer service work, she lost her job and began battling with something new: homelessness as an older adult.

The Importance of Deeply Affordable Housing

But in April of 2012, one of Sandra’s friends learned about her housing situation and recommended a deeply affordable place to live. That’s how Sandra discovered Catholic Charities Evergreen Residence, an 88-unit permanent housing program near Target Field in Minneapolis.

Sandra has lived at Evergreen since then, and has said that, “it has been like a safe haven for me; it provided stability in the midst of my instability.” Now, Sandra can engage even more deeply in her community. She enjoys cooking meals to share with her neighbors every Tuesday, continues to volunteer, and advocates for her community at the Minnesota Capitol.

“When I moved in here, I realized that my journey is not over,” Sandra said. “I know what it’s like to be homeless, and I know what it’s like to eat ramen 365 days a year. But now I never have to worry.”

Sandra Uses her Voice at the Capitol

Sandra brought her lived experience to the Minnesota Homeless Day on the Hill. Sandra explained, “I was there to make a difference, to make a change—to represent the homeless.” Sandra testified in a public meeting, was interviewed by the Star Tribune, and met Senator Scott Dibble. “As legislators, we look at legislation, we look at spreadsheets,” said Dibble. “And those are very important, but they’re a bit abstract. They become humanized and contextualized when we meet people.”

Nyaluak’s Experience with Youth Homelessness

Nyaluak has always been passionate about expressing herself through art and music. She grew up in southern Minnesota and shares that her home life was often challenging. During those years, she also found that creative outlets served as a way for her to escape difficult situations.

In sixth grade, Nyaluak’s family moved to a suburb of the Twin Cities. After graduating from high school, she was excited to leave home to attend Arizona State University. Nyaluak enjoyed learning new things, as well as the independence she gained in college. However, after just one year at Arizona State, Nyaluak’s financial support fell through, and she was forced to drop out.

Finding Support at Hope Street for Youth

When Nyaluak first arrived at Hope Street, she was dealing with a lot of thorny emotions. Couch hopping and being on the move had affected her mental health, and she was exhausted. “I had been so many different places trying to get away from what my life was like,” Nyaluak said, “but it was never to actually improve myself – just to escape.”

When Nyaluak moved into her own room at Hope Street, she decided to engage with everything that was offered at the shelter, and she attended every group meeting, craft day, and community event that she could. At one community meeting, local artists Moira Villiard and Carla Hamilton came into Hope Street to talk about their collaborative art project: “Waiting for Beds.”

After hearing Nyaluak’s story, they encouraged her to participate in the exhibition. “I told them I would love to participate,” said Nyaluak, “and it was one of the first decisions I’ve made to better my life.”

Regaining Control and Becoming a Stronger Person

“Waiting for Beds” showed Nyaluak’s multimedia painting — and artwork from nearly a dozen other youth at Hope Street — at three different galleries across the Twin Cities.

Shortly after the exhibition, Nyaluak’s Hope Street case manager connected her to a job. After interviewing, Nyaluak was proud to land the job. She continues to create art in her free time after work. And her next goal is to go back to school for music education or music therapy.

“The situation I grew up in was hard, but it made me a stronger person and shaped who I am today,” Nyaluak explained. “Since coming to Hope Street, I’ve been able to let go of the things that were holding me back. I’m in control of my life again.”

Recently, Nyaluak moved out of Hope Street and into her own apartment in Minneapolis.

Students Who Volunteer with Catholic Charities

Last year at Catholic Charities, volunteers worked over 40,000 service hours across the agency. Although most volunteers are adults, many students volunteer to work daily shifts—both in school groups, and individually. In the past year, over 150 students volunteered at Catholic Charities Twin Cities!

Volunteers at Catholic Charities Twin Cities helped serve over 1,000,000 meals to more than 25,000 men, women, and children during the last year. This summer, a handful of student volunteers have made a big impact:

Catholic Charities Communications Volunteers

This summer, two student volunteers from local high schools joined Catholic Charities to use their time in a bit of a different way by interning with the communications team. Lily Noble from Visitation School, and Alexandra Nitabach from St. Louis Park High School are spending 6 weeks of their summer break at Catholic Charities administrative office in Elliot Park to learn about marketing, journalism, socials media, fundraising, and other communications work. Their efforts will help the team and agency share stories from across Catholic Charities programs.

Hennepin Shelter Hotline and Catholic Charities Diversion Program

The Hennepin Shelter Hotline is operated by a Catholic Charities Twin Cities program called Diversion. Residents of Hennepin County who are 18 or older call the hotline to seek emergency shelter, access mediation to find safe housing options, get advice about short-term non-shelter accommodations, and even locate resources to secure permanent housing. The goal of Diversion and the Hennepin Shelter Hotline is to help residents who are facing a housing emergency explore all their options before accessing emergency shelter. Although emergency shelters provide lifesaving services to our community, once people enter the system, it can be hard to get out.

How Diversion Works

The person-centered approach that Diversion navigators take is client-led and solution-focused — and is also cost effective. It provides human connection to people who are in a crisis situation and are facing homelessness. Aside from connecting callers to local resources and offering mediation and other services, Hennepin Shelter Hotline is funded by the County to help provide qualifying callers with stipends for security deposits, first month’s rent, gift cards for food and other essentials, transportation, or other family reunification expenses. The Diversion program started on January 3, 2023 — during that calendar year, 1,313 households were diverted from emergency shelter. Recently, Marion Greene, Hennepin County Commissioner of District 3, visited the Catholic Charities Diversion team to learn more about the program and listen in on a handful of calls.

Commissioner Marion Greene Visits Diversion

Commissioner Greene represents residents in parts of Minneapolis and St. Louis Park. She visited Diversion one afternoon after spending the morning with other providers serving the homeless. Her goal was to better understand how Diversion fits into the greater context of emergency services in the Twin Cities, and what types of questions callers typically ask. “Callers often just want to know what options they have, and we help them work through their current crisis,” explained Robert Brass, Diversion Program Manager. “We typically ask: What other options can you explore besides shelter? Do you have a family member or friend who can help you out — even if it’s just for tonight?” From there, navigators help callers identify a solution. One recent caller was connected with a housing provider and moved in the next day. Another caller was a single dad who ran out of money while living in hotels — he received support to find housing and pay the damage deposit.

Kristine’s Story at Dorothy Day Place

Kristine worked as a nurse her entire adult life. While she’s done pretty much every kind of nursing, caring for newborns was always her favorite. She had a successful career that allowed her to raise children, travel, and feel fulfilled.

But in 2020, Kristine’s life turned upside down when her husband died unexpectedly. She was 54 years old at the time, and the loss of her life partner, “was almost too much to bear,” she said. Aside from dealing with her own grief, Kristine suddenly had to also navigate life with one source of income.

That same year, Kristine suffered a major medical crisis of her own and was unable to work. The going got even tougher, Kristine said, “and at the end of the day you’re not left with a whole lot of choices.” She drained her retirement savings and sold all her valuables, but continued struggling to make ends meet. And on December 20th of 2023, Kristine’s financial hardships caused her to lose her housing.

Working Toward New Goals

“I was so grateful to have opportunities again,” Kristine said, “I had my own things, I had people to help me, and I started to meet people that I felt like I could laugh with again.” Kristine spent her evenings in the women’s shelter and walked across the street to the day center for meals and services. Her goal was to move into housing upstairs.

“I couldn’t wait to have my own room again, to be able to cook in my own kitchen, and just to have a space of my own,” explained Kristine. “I’m 58 years old, but I knew I could persevere.”

A Home of Her Own

One day that March, Kristine’s new caseworker Jenae introduced herself and told Kristine that she had a lead on housing. Kristine was moved into her own apartment three weeks from that day.

“Two years in a row I spent Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and my birthday on the streets,” explained Kristine. “When Jenae told me there was an apartment for me here, I couldn’t believe it.”

Since then, Kristine has worked hard to make her apartment feel like home; she has meticulously decorated, grown a collection of houseplants, and for the first time in years, will decorate for the holidays.

Joshua’s Story

Joshua is the kind of person that you’d want as a neighbor. He’s friendly, respectful, and seems to know a little bit about everything. He is 34 years old now and has been through more than his fair share of challenges in life — including a stint in jail for something that happened when he was a younger man. About that time, Joshua said, “I knew that I was never going back. I knew that this was my opportunity to start over.”

Starting over with a criminal record is not easy, even if you’re young. Joshua secured a job at a restaurant as he exited jail but was experiencing homelessness at the time. He knew he needed to earn more money, but couch-hopping, sleeping in the Minneapolis skyways, and finding other places to spend the night made that extremely difficult. Still, Joshua found a second job at the Mall of America and saved every dollar he could.

A Permanent Place to Live

With a permanent place to call home, Joshua has been able to dedicate more time to his personal and professional development. He’s currently studying to become a licensed pest controller and recently registered an LLC under his name. Joshua has been working really hard and shared that, “new things and failure don’t scare me at all, I’ve found my oasis here and I’m going to figure things out.”

Outside of work, Joshua likes to spend his time doing music production and working events as a DJ — things that he can do again now that he has a place of his own and money to invest in equipment. “If you’re going through homelessness or other hard times, this is the place to go,” Joshua said, “Moving here allowed me to hit the reset button—it has helped me accomplish so much.”

Roland’s Experience with Long-Term Homelessness

Roland is a natural storyteller who loves to laugh and will always greet you with a smile and a joke. He is from the Midwest and describes himself as a “survivor.”

Roland started working when he was thirteen years old and takes pride in being self-sufficient. He led a long career with the Ford Motor Company but ended up struggling after being part of a large layoff. Roland had some money saved but was unable to find work. He recalled that, “when my money ran out, it was the first time in my life that I had nothing to spend and no place to go.”

Finally Finding a Place of His Own

Roland clearly remembers the day that Brenda left a note on his bunk, offering to help him find housing if he was interested. “If it wasn’t for Brenda, I probably would have never pursued housing,” Roland said. “I’m a professional street person — I knew how to survive out there.”

As Roland worked with Brenda to apply for housing, it slowly began to seem possible. He was living on an extremely low income but worked hard to set money aside. “It’s really scary to put away what little money you have in that situation,” Brenda explained, “but it’s an important investment in yourself.”

About three months later, Brenda called Roland into her office to share the news she received early that morning: there was an apartment available that he qualified for. “It felt like a miracle,” Roland said. Brenda went to pick up keys that afternoon, and the apartment upstairs at Dorothy Day Place would be move-in ready that weekend.

A Model That Works

Roland credits Dorothy Day Place for providing him with the resources he needed to secure a place of his own again – for the first time in over a decade. “When you leave this shelter, you may not have any money, but you can go to the day shelter right across the street,” explained Roland. “They have everything you need: showers, socks, clothes, and resources upstairs — they can help you get a job, apply for benefits, and even find housing.”

Amidst Roland’s excitement about having a place to call home again he smiled and said, “this is a great place, it saved my life.”