Community Picnic Held at Bemidji's Conifer Estates - P2

Everyone got at least two gifts in the give-away

Just behind the baseball fields near Bemidji Middle School, nestled among the pines, is a place called Conifer Estates, a supportive housing project put together with collaborative effort by several governments and agencies, including Red Lake Nation, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, and Bi-County CAP.

At about 3 p.m. on a beautiful Thursday, June 11, 2015, 70+ residents, staff, and guests - about half of whom were small children - gathered near Conifer's office building for a picnic supper while enjoying the sun and the 78-degree heat.

To the rear of the building was a meeting room filled with hot dog and hamburger buns, chips, pickles, and more. Outside the open back door, Conifer's young, hard-working resident manager, a stern but gentle fellow known as Joe Van Horn of Redby and Chad Nelson Chief Property Manager for DW Jones, commandeers two charcoal grills.

Van Horn and Nelson were grilling up dozens of burgers and dogs for those gathered. To Van Horn's left, six or seven young children were seated at a round steel table chatting away like fledglings. Behind them, several more played on a "jungle gym." Laughing children were everywhere, recently freed from their school desks, they were thoroughly enjoying one of the first days of summer.

Shortly after 3 pm, a food line formed that snaked through the office building. These were neighbors, becoming better friends. They inched forward chatting and laughing unconcerned for the wait.

After lunch Nelson and Van Horn gathered all the kids together and led them to a dry "run-off" pond, a round depression not unlike a small amphitheater where bags of water balloons lay waiting. After forming three teams, the fun began. Later every child and adult were the recipients of at least one give-away.

"This is such a great turn-out," Nelson told the small crowd of neighbors and friends. "My thanks to the staff here at Conifer and of course the tenants who have made this effort such a great success."

"I couldn't be happier about how this all turned out, the success of it," said Barb Meuers, Case Manager for Bi-CAP, who could not conceal her satisfaction and pride. "We've been here not quite thee years. Families have moved in and out slowly over that time. Some may know each other only in passing. So this event is timely, the perfect opportunity to create a stronger community as neighbors, both adults and children, to build trust and friendship."

Nova Larson and Karen Beaulieu of Red Lake Housing Authority tag-team to work on-site at Conifer every Tuesday. Meuers, case manager for Bi-Cap, works there Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, while case manager for Leech Lake Housing; Valerie Robinson covers the office on Friday.

"We have monthly service provider meetings, and our families will approach any of us for assistance," said Robinson. "We work hard at knowing what is happening at Conifer and pass along important information to each other. This helps the three entities identify problem areas as well as opportunities to help in positive areas, then to act quickly so we can address the issues. We work well together and share the responsibility of management and services to our clients."

Larson confirmed Robinson's observations, "Valerie, Barb, Karen and I not only work together well, we like and respect each other," said Larson. "This camaraderie helps us help our residents by designing programs in life-skills training, money management, etc. We also act as liaisons between residents and social agencies to help them get on their feet, if needed."

Meuers concluded by thanking Leech Lake and Red Lake for providing all the food for the event, and others who gave small donations.

Conifer Estates: Serving Eligible Tribal Members and Long-Term Homeless

On a single day in 2009, 393 people were known to be homeless in the Northwest Region of Minnesota, including 235 children and youth through age 21. As the economy worsened and homelessness increased, housing leaders in Beltrami initiated a planning process to bring a supportive housing project into the community.

Conifer Estates, which grew out of the planning process, is a collaborative effort between Headwaters Housing Development Corporation (HHDC), Beltrami County HRA, Red Lake Nation, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, and Bi-County Community Action Programs, Inc. (Bi-CAP). The 20-unit development consists of 16 supportive and three transitional housing units, and one caretaker's unit, all designed to successfully house long-term homeless families. Red Lake HRA and Leech Lake HRA each hold the master lease for five units and sublet these 10 units to eligible tribal members. The remaining nine units are available to other households experiencing long-term homelessness.

Conifer Estates residents have access to supportive services such as life-skills training, money management, employment referrals, counseling, and crisis intervention. Tribal members can access additional services directly from their tribe. Conifer Estates is the only housing development in the region for which two tribal nations and a local agency share in the management and delivery of services.

The project's concept was developed during a Tribal Roundtable regarding the need for affordable housing choices in Bemidji. During the discussion, the Corporation for Supportive Housing suggested the group could try to secure bonding funding from the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency to create a supportive housing project. The HHDC agreed to be the project developer and the Beltrami County HRA agreed to be the public owner. The group faced many obstacles during the development process. Among the difficulties was securing funding to develop Conifer Avenue, the road that now runs adjacent to Conifer Estates. The City of Bemidji was a strong supporter of the project, providing funding that was essential for the road.