10 Comments
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Paul Thoresen's avatar

There's a lot to think about in this interview.. What really caught my attention though around the 44 or 45 minutes mark was the discussion around harm reduction. I remember first learning about harm reduction around 30 years ago.. It seems that it has mutated into some form of toxic empathy. Enabling people to continue using their drugs of choice does not help them to get help for their addiction. I have not worked in that field for many years, and I'm sure there have been lots of developments and advancements. But some things don't really change.

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Bill's avatar

Neighbors should contact the governor’s office of addiction and recovery OAR. Also the opioid epidemic response advisory council OERAC. The governor’s 2023 budget proposal had millions allocated for treatment related services for street populations aa they are all substance dependent. Unfortunately, inner city legislators diverted much of the funding to other purposes.

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Nels Sandberg's avatar

Pretty soon the residents will be voting with their feet.

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Bill's avatar

Mpls city council allocated millions in "violence prevention" grants. Minnesota spent over one hundred million on similar grants. Where are these violence preventers?

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Mike Shulman's avatar

The situation is both sad and frustrating. It’s one thing that the various government agencies and nonprofits are stepping on each other’s toes, but another thing altogether when people literally stand in the way of fixing the problem. I get the impression that’s what the DSA-aligned city council members have been doing for the past few years.

The first step to solving a problem is acknowledging the problem.

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Julie Stroeve's avatar

Unfortunately, these are the scenes that those of us who live in urban cityscapes encounter daily. Homelessness and drug addiction go hand in hand; stable housing is the first step to get this under control. The homeless/mentally ill population is a difficult one; they often refuse help. But given the appropriate tools, perhaps they will make better choices. I like Bill's referrals below. I also wonder if the activities at 46th are also occurring at 38th and 42nd. And Lake Street. Seems like the light rail is handy transit for the homeless and addicted. It's a hugely complicated issue, but I agree that it needs to be addressed with a very holistic approach. Great River Landing in Downtown Minneapolis is an example of highly successful housing/programming for formerly-incarcerated.

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Catherine LaVine Fuller's avatar

Audrin Chowdhury was just reelected to serve a four year term for Ward 12. Has she been involved in figuring out ways to solve this problem?

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Michelle's avatar

Aurin is an encampment enabler. She voted against taking legal action to shut down the Sabri drug encampment. Several days after her vote eight people were shot there.

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Jacque Erickson's avatar

You should invite Marvin Smith on your podcast. He has put together a group of regular people, some who have been addicted, others who just care - to address these issues. We meet just off of 42nd and Hiawatha

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Terry White's avatar

Please send me Marvin’s contact information.

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