Located at 41 North 12th Street in Minneapolis the Youth Opportunity Center at YouthLink offers youth experiencing homelessness a geographically accessible location near much-needed public transportation.  As you may be aware, our site was included in the Linden Avenue option for the new Vikings stadium.

Our partnership with our Board of Directors, Heading Home Hennepin, the county, community and state agencies, youth service agencies, and private and individual stakeholders solidify that the Youth Opportunity Center model will remain strong.  With more than 20 partners onsite, the center will soon open for extended hours as a result of an investment by the Otto Bremer Foundation.

Since the Youth Opportunity Center opened in 2011, the number of youth accessing basic needs and crisis intervention services has nearly doubled.

Collaborative services on site include: basic needs, case management, education support services, career and employment services, mental health care, housing referrals, health and dental clinics, legal aid, county eligibility support services, and arts and cultural opportunities. We are excited to move this model forward along with our friends and partners.

YouthLink staff and our Youth Opportunity Center partners are more focused than ever on being a responsive, effective resource to help end youth homelessness in the future.  We appreciate your support and confidence in YouthLink and the Youth Opportunity Center.

If you have any questions or need additional information please don’t hesitate to contact Dr. Heather Huseby, Executive Director, at huseby@youthlinkmn.org, or Frances Roen, Director of Development, at 612-252-1283 or roen@youthlinkmn.org. You can also log-on to our website at www.youthlinkmn.org for up-to-date information.

We look forward to continuing our dedication to homeless young people (ages 16-23) to provide them with the tools needed to build a solid framework for empowerment, self-reliance and healthy connections. Again, thank you for being an important part of the work happening here.

More than a decade ago, YouthLink purchased its current facility located at 41 North 12th Street in Minneapolis. This site is part of the proposed Linden Avenue site option for the new Vikings stadium.

YouthLink serves more than 2,000 homeless and at-risk youth annually. Hennepin County and private funders continue to make significant investments in YouthLink; most recently this included major investments to renovate the facility to host the multi-service Youth Opportunity Center, a priority recommendation of the Heading Home Hennepin plan.

As a result, more than 20 community partners are now onsite with YouthLink to more efficiently connect with this highly vulnerable population of young people. The renovated facility is an accessible, award-winning site positioned geographically to reach the highest number of homeless youth.

The proposed Linden Avenue option for the new Vikings stadium directly involves the YouthLink site.   The leadership of YouthLink, our board of directors, Heading Home Hennepin leadership and other key community stakeholders are working together to determine the impact of this option on services, our 40 employees, 20 onsite community partners and, of course, on the young people we serve.

We remain steadfast and focused on our mission and vision.  Our commitment to provide homeless youth and youth-in-crisis with a safe, responsive and supportive range of services designed to open doors to futures of empowerment, self-reliance and connectedness is stronger than ever.  Our advocacy for homeless youth and youth-in-crisis not only continues but will be strengthened in the future.

Questions about YouthLink and the Youth Opportunity Center can be directed to Frances Roen, Director of Development by email: roen@youthlinkmn.org or by phone: 612-252-1283 or to Dr. Heather Huseby, Executive Director by email: huseby@youthlinkmn.org.

Concerns about the proposed Linden Avenue site can be directed to your county commissioner, city council representative and/or your legislator.

Here is how you can help:

Call Governor Dayton’s Office: 651-201-3400

Contact your State Legislator 
Find contact info for your State Senator and State Representative

If you live in Hennepin County: 
Call your County Commissioner

YouthLink Greatly Affected by Linden Ave. Stadium Proposal

Plan Proposes the Demolition of the Nonprofit’s Building

 Minneapolis, MN.  January 12, 2012—YouthLink, a 30 year old nonprofit agency focused on transitioning homeless youth and youth in crisis to self-reliance, stability and empowerment is concerned about the proposed Vikings stadium site on Linden Ave.  

The agency provides a safe location and supportive community of resources for youth served. More than than 2,000 youth (ages 16-23) visit YouthLink annually. The organization is an intentional part of the City-County’s Heading Home Hennepin plan to eliminate homelessness. 

Sadly, the proposed football stadium on Linden Ave. would include the demolition of YouthLink. 

 Significant public and private investments have been made in YouthLink at its current location.  A $1.4 million renovation was just completed to increase youth access to services.  Hennepin County invested more than $700,000 of the total to bring the vision of the Youth Opportunity Center to reality. 

This has resulted in a network of community services being located under one roof at the YouthLink site.  In addition, the Otto Bremer Foundation recently made a significant investment to increase availability of services, including increased hours of operation.  They have been at their current location on N 12^th Street in Minneapolis for 12 years. 

Commenting on the current proposal, Executive Director Dr. Heather Huseby said, “We support the Vikings and what they bring to our state, but this proposed plan would be devastating to so many given the investments that have been made and the population served.  The bottom line is that the Linden Avenue plan would mean that the young people we serve would lose an accessible, safe oasis; and, of course, they will experience the elimination of yet another opportunity for hope and change.”

 YouthLink urges those with concerns to notify a commissioner, city council person or legislator. 

 About YouthLink

YouthLink builds healthy relationships with youth and the community to address youths’ urgent needs so that doors of opportunity are opened to futures of empowerment, connectedness, and self-reliance. They serve as a critical resource for homeless, precariously housed and marginalized young people ages 16 to 23 by providing a safe, supportive refuge where youth can find help meeting basic needs.  You can find more information at www.YouthLinkMN.org.

Here is how you can help:

Call Governor Dayton’s Office: 651-201-3400

Contact your State Legislator
Find contact info for your State Senator and State Representative

If you live in Hennepin County:
Call your County Commissioner

Congratulations to AECOM! YouthLink’s remodel to host the YOC won them an award for best small project from ENR Midwest!

A special thanks to Kare 11 for featuring us not once, but twice in the month of November! Check out this great feature on youth homelessness and interview with Dr. Heather Huseby, our Executive Director, about our annual Thanksgiving dinner.

Frances Roen, Director of Development was also interviewed for Kare 11 last Saturday morning about our upcoming holiday party for homeless youth.

For a recap of the Thanksgiving dinner and ways you can help out with our upcoming Holiday Party, take a look at this article on YouthLink courtesy of Examiner.com.

We raised over $170 in two hours, an amazing feat thanks to your generous support!

To stay up to date on where we’ll be, and how you can support YouthLink, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or click here.

 High priority clothing items:

• Coats (especially XL, XXL, XXXL sizes)
• Hats, mittens and scarves
• T-shirts (large sizes)
• Jeans (large sizes)

Thanksgiving Party food items:

• 13 boneless hams (8lbs – 10lbs each)
• 8 turkeys (15lbs and up)
• Stove top stuffing mix
• 100 pounds of potatoes
• 50 pounds of sweet potatoes
• 200 Dinner rolls
• Assorted fresh fruit: pineapple, cantaloupe, honey dew and strawberries
• 16 quarts of eggnog

Holiday Party food items:

• 4 prime ribs
• 100 pounds of chicken wings
• 8 boneless hams (8lbs – 10lbs each)
• 60 pounds of potatoes
• 60 pounds of sweet potatoes
• Assorted fresh fruit: pineapple, cantaloupe, honey dew and strawberries
• 32 quarts of Eggnog -32qt

High priority household items:

• Twin sheet sets, bedding and towels
• Housewares (silverware, plates, pots & pans)
• Full size hygiene products (shampoo, conditioner, lotions)

Interested in hosting a donation drive?  Please contact Frances Roen, Director of Development, at 612.252.1283 or roen@youthlinkmn.org or download our “Host a Donation Drive” information sheet here.

On June 28th, Mayor Rybak visited the Youth Opportunity Center at YouthLink. Dr. Heather Huseby, Executive Director, and Josephine Pufpaff, Director of Strategic Planning and Evaluation, along with YouthLink Board Members, Will Roach, Ben Reinhardt, and Deputy Chief of Police Janee Harteau greeted the mayor and gave him a tour of the renovated facility. Throughout the tour, Mayor Rybak stopped to meet many of the young people who were accessing services and attending an on-site health fair—often inquiring of them about their plans for post-secondary education or congratulating them on a recent graduation or milestone. At one point, Mayor Rybak put on a hygienist mask and gloves to try his hand at dentistry with YOC on-site partner, Children’s Dental Services. Children’s Dental Services provides a full range of dental services on-site once a month at the YOC.

After the tour, Mayor Rybak sat down with staff and board members to discuss the impact of the Youth Opportunity Center on service delivery and long-term chronic homelessness. The conversation focused how the YOC is a model for helping young people reframe their “stories” from the dangers of street life into a brighter future that includes education, employment, stable housing and healthy community relationships.  Additionally, the staff and the Mayor talked about ways the center might work together with the Minneapolis Promise and We Want You Back to eliminate significant barriers experienced by young people experiencing homelessness.

For more on the Mayor’s initiatives, please click here. For more on YouthLink’s education and employment focus area, please click here.

What do we know ?

Unfortunately, there are more questions than answers about what a shutdown would mean for YouthLink, the Youth Opportunity Center and the young people in our community experiencing homelessness. We realize we are living in a time of shifting trends, expectations and economic uncertainty and, for this reason, for the past two years, YouthLink staff and Board have been hard at work reorganizing around the Youth Opportunity Center collaborative model. We feel confident that we have carefully crafted a flexible strategic plan that will guide our work for the coming years and ensure financial stability and our ability to continue providing services to young people in crisis.

 What do we do?

YouthLink is committed to offering effective programs and making sure that investments are turned into positive results.  We will continue to evaluate our current work and, if needed, identify areas to reduce or cut that are outside of our core programs. We will carry on with our fundraising initiatives to reach out to individual donors and private foundations, so that we are not dependent on government funding to provide services to young people in crisis. YouthLink recognizes that our donors and funders, along with our staff, board and partners are our greatest assets. Now more than ever, it will take a collaborative effort to end homelessness in our community.

 How can you help?

Respectful phone calls to legislators and the governor’s office continue to be helpful and necessary. Find out who represents you and get their contact information here.

 If you aren’t already supporting YouthLink, please consider making an investment now. Recurring donations or one-time donations can be made directly on our website. Questions? Please contact Dr. Heather Huseby, Executive Director, at 612.252.1200.

The Minneapolis Chapter of the American Institute of Architects Minnesota (AIA Minnesota) awarded four merit awards to projects by AIA Minneapolis architects that tell a story of excellence beyond design, reflecting the variety of forces that shape a building. Unique in its approach to creating a jury, these awards encompass the views of business professionals, real estate developers, community advocates, and academic leaders as well as architects.  Eighteen entries were reviewed for client/team satisfaction, technical innovation, environmental responsibility, budget/business success, community impact and the architectural solution.