Lydia House Segregates Special Needs People Into 4 Minneapolis Neighborhoods.
The white ruling class “reserved” Sowetto, South Africa for its black population. The Minneapolis city policy of hyper-concentration of supportive housing and social services “reserves” our neighborhood for the mentally ill, chemically dependent and disabled. Plymouth Church’s Lydia House advances this policy with an 18th supportive housing facility within � mile.
Special needs individuals are now 28% of the population of Stevens Square, and the highest concentration in Minnesota. Within our neighborhoods of Whittier, Stevens-Square and Phillips there are 57 supportive housing projects and more than 300 social service facilities. Most Minneapolis neighborhoods have none.
While the official city policy of one facility per � mile demands integration throughout the city, the de facto policy is segregation and discrimination: Most are in our four neighborhoods. This “redlining” encourages groups like Plymouth Church to collect $5.2 million of taxpayer money to buy property and to open Lydia House.
The result is struggling neighborhoods like mine become more fragile, more prone to crime and less attractive to homeowners. Worse overwhelmed neighborhoods cannot provide adequate support to challenged individuals.
Plymouth Church is a white, suburban congregation with members like Mr. Aldrich of St. Louis Park (Star Tribune letter to the editor of 12/6/01) where there are no supportive facilities. They don’t live in our neighborhood. They don’t understand the impact of another Lydia House. They never experience our challenges yet they feel free to be critical of us.
Mr. Aldrich tells us to bring food to the homeless under the Third Avenue bridge rather than carry a sign in front of Plymouth Church. Perhaps before he writes letters to the Editor, he should spend a few nights walking with our block patrol, and like us, actually help those in need.
Perhaps he’ll understand one thing they don’t need is more segregation, and that they deserve the opportunity to live in neighborhoods like his.
John Cevette
612-310-3500
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