Future of Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center in jeopardy amid federal cuts
In Minnesota, Native Americans and American Indians are 30 times more likely to experience homelessness than their white counterparts, according to state data.
The issue hit a fever pitch with the increase in encampments — but a place that is helping people in encampments find homes needs help.
Soup's on in the bustling south Minneapolis kitchen at Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center. The food is being well received, and so are the services. From foot baths and finding housing, meals here are especially satisfying.
"I don't know how my life would have turned out if it wasn't for this organization and the services that I received," Judy Hartman said.
Hartman first came to the Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center two decades ago at the most vulnerable of times.
"Being in a safe space while I was pregnant was very, very important to me. This is the only place that I had to go," she said.
Like the many who come here, she got the tools to take care of herself. She is now an active volunteer, is six years sober and a proud grandmother who's passing love and tradition on.
"I'm showing her our culture and our beliefs and how we are as a people," Hartman said.
She's also sharing her love with people who've been living in encampments, who, with help from the center, are finding homes.
"All the negative, all the evictions, all the fires, all the ODS, that's the only thing that's shown. But they don't see the legwork and all the positivity that this organization does for our own sheltered," Hartman said.
It's an organization that's going through some tough times of its own.
"I arrived here March 4 on a Monday in 2024, and within 30 minutes, I realized the sense of urgency that we were in to keep the doors open, to keep employees, just has been a constant fight," Ruth Anna Buffalo, CEO of the Indian Women's Resource Center, said.
A former North Dakota legislator, Buffalo took over the 40-year-old organization.
"Missing and murdered indigenous persons, that here on the ground is where we can make that big impact for future generations," she said.
But the mission is now tougher than ever. In March, the place was vandalized; they need a new security camera system and they took a $300,000 hit during federal cuts.
"Critical, it's critical, we are at a critical juncture right now," Buffalo said.
They need people to give money so they can keep giving support.
"Gosh, my dream for this place is that it will be, continue to be a welcoming, safe haven for the relatives," Buffalo said.
Although the need is big, their impact is bigger.
"It's very important for this place to stay open," Hartman said.
The organization is accepting clothing and financial donations, information is on the Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center website.
