Founded in 1885, HumanKind Ministries sought to aid people experiencing systemic poverty. Throughout the many years, HumanKind Ministries has provided tremendous support for not only those experiencing homelessness, but those who are low-income, and those who are in high-risk situations. Their main initiative has not always been housing, but developments as recent as the early 2000s changed that.
LaTasha St. Arnault, HumanKind Ministries president and CEO, spoke at the Ulrich Museum of Art on Tuesday, Sep.12 to discuss that while housing is the first step, it is not the overall solution to the issue of homelessness. The root cause must be targeted: support systems.
“We want to combat these inadequate systems but also really talk about the inconsistencies of a person’s ability to access things–like housing,” St. Arnault said.
She goes on to say that insufficient housing is the number one determinant of a person’s health and well-being in every community.
This organization offers several different types of housing to meet each homeless person in the middle with case managers to assist every step of the way. The Inn has 60 beds for one to have an extended stay, typically of 45 days. The Studios house 54-unit, furnished apartments with all utilities paid. In order to help someone transition from the streets to living independently, a stay is around 1-3 years. Long term, low-income housing in The Villas is meant for many years. HumanKind opens emergency winter shelters from November to March, and they have teams that travel the city handing out basic needs to members of the homeless community.
“No single agency is going to be able to really combat all of that,” St. Arnault said, referring to the around 600 people that are still sleeping outside. “It takes multiple agencies that cross-intersect. It also is going to take, quite frankly, our city and our county to invest in what we consider public health, and this is a public health concern.”
HumanKind Ministries receives minimal government funding. Besides a grant of $250,000 for The Villas, all of HumanKind Ministries’ programs are funded by donations from individuals, corporations and foundations, which St. Arnault said makes their work “really hard.”
St. Arnault said that HumanKind Ministries would like to focus on fostering the support they have, rather than investing in politics and possibly tearing down pre-existing relationships. According to St. Arnault, HumanKind Ministries is working on several initiatives to make an even greater impact, which gives her a lot of hope for the future.
