A coalition of investors and community partners will gather this week for a hard hat tour of a new housing and health community for Native Americans.
The project is being developed by Native American Community Clinic and Wellington Management.
"The building is a six-story structure that has the first two floors dedicated to the clinic, and the clinical space where we will operate out of," explains Dr. Antony Stately, President and Executive Officer of NACC. "And then the top four floors are affordable and supportive housing. So 1, 2, 3 and 4-bedroom units."
Stately also explains why this campus is important.
"In the city of Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin, one out of three people that are unsheltered are Native Americans," Stately says. "And it's hard to get all of the things that you need, and to improve your health, if you're not living in a stable environment. If you don't have a home."
The building will consist of 83 units of affordable housing.
"We have integrated a lot of Indigenous thought and wisdom into the way that we structured the building," Stately adds. "Everything from the design process to the community engagement process in welcoming people into the space, and that will continue to provide robust traditional healing, and cultural care, and spiritual care services, as part of their healing journeys."
The project on Franklin Avenue is expected to be completed by September.
"We see anybody that walks through our front doors, right? Whether they have the ability to pay or not," Stately says. "What NAACC does, is we work really hard to make sure if you walk through the front door and you aren't insured, we're going to find a way to get you insured. Because we know that people without health insurance are less likely to seek help when they need it."
