‘Cover Stories’ Archives
East Phillips Needs Harm Reduction Solutions for the Drug Problem
By Stephen Gregg In the eight years I’ve owned my home near 26th St and Bloomington Ave, I have been stuck by a discarded syringe, seen multiple overdoses, two deaths, and countless ambulances and police vehicles. I have watched in horror as entwined problems increase: the number of people experiencing homelessness, open air drug use, and crime. When approaching neighborhood issues, I try to practice empathy. From the beginning I’ve wanted to be involved in the work to find solutions, attending countless neighborhood meetings of all sorts. The problems here are deep-rooted and complex. I’m not a social worker–actually I’m an agricultural plant scientist. So I also comb research for solutions to problems. And this search has pointed me strongly towards harm reduction practices and services, practices endorsed by the CDC. Harm reduction has the potential to reduce short term harms while creating space for long lasting change. The city is already funding harm reduction [...]
Giga-Waabamin Nee-Gon-We-Way-We-Dun
Neegonwewaywedun “Thunder Before the Storm” A.K.A Clyde Bellecourt, Co-Founder of the American Indian Movement Prominent Indigenous elder to local and nation-wide communities Nee-Gon-We-Way-We-Dun (Thunder Before the Storm in Ojibwe), also known as Clyde Bellecourt (White Earth Nation), passed to the spirit world January 11th, 2022. His dedication and steadfast work for the lives and heritage of Indigenous people worldwide -- fighting against police brutality; establishing and keeping Little Earth of United Tribes; initiating programs for health, education, safety, language, legal rights, cultural heritage, and education; advocating against racist sports names, icons, and mascots; and co-founding the American Indian Movement (AIM) -- was obvious locally and has been chronicled, in part, by the alley newspaper since the paper’s beginning in 1975. The alley newspaper is honored to memorialize him with this excerpt from a New Years reflection by Laura Waterman [...]
Anishinabe III: Addressing Homelessness and The Opioid Epidemic
By Tina Monje Anishinabe III, a new supportive housing building at 16th and Franklin Avenues, opened in December 2021.Photo credit: Tina Monje In December of 2021, The American Indian Community Development Corporation (AICDC) opened the doors of Anishinabe III, another permanent supportive housing building added to their roster. Built over the summer of 2021, this four story building on Franklin Avenue sits between the American Indian Center and the Hiawatha overpass, right across the street from the long fenced-off Wall of Forgotten Natives, on what used to be the Anishinabe Campus lawn. Nearly 30 years after the first inception of AICDC as an Indigenous-led task force, this building stands as a testament to the Corporation’s commitment to ever-evolving needs of their neighborhood and their relatives. Travis Earth-Werner, AICDC’s Program Project Manager, says this project is a reflection of AICDC’s longtime, core mission to address homeless in the Indigenous community [...]
