Background
WBUUC has had a longstanding relationship with the Harriet Tubman Center in Maplewood, beginning in 2016 with the opening of a drop-in center for homeless youth at the Tubman location in Maplewood. This effort was funded and staffed largely by WBUUC in collaboration with several other area churches and local civic organizations. In 2018 we worked with Tubman again to open an outreach center in the Maplewood Mall, a much more accessible location for homeless youth in the area. WBUUC helped renovate the Mall site, acquire needed equipment, and has been paying site rent of $1200 each year, as well as ongoing support via volunteers and donated supplies.
The center provides computer access, food shelf and snacks, personal hygiene products, school supplies, laundry facilities, bus passes, as well as access to support services available at the Harriet Tubman Center in Maplewood. Covid-19 forced a shut-down in 2020, but the Center has now reopened.
Current Status
The Mall outreach center is currently open Wednesday through Friday from 11am to 3pm, and Saturdays from 1-4pm. Staffing is done by Tubman employees or interns, along with community volunteers, at a normal level of one Tubman staff and one volunteer for each open shift. The goal going forward is to be open W-Fri, 11am to 7pm, hopefully starting in January, 2022, with a longer term goal of Monday through Friday 11am-7pm and Saturdays from 10am-4pm.
Opportunities for Support
Volunteers are needed, and those who have previously been through Tubman’s volunteer training program need only do an on-site refresher training at the Mall. This can be scheduled by contacting the site coordinator, Trina Bak, at tbak@tubman.org to arrange a time. Those new to volunteering at the site go through a volunteer training program conducted by Tubman staff, now available virtually, with the next scheduled training January 8, 11, 13, 18, 20. Contact Katie Massie at kmassie@tubman.org or at 651-789-6752 to get the details. The training involves a range of topics, including duties of volunteers, better understanding of some of the traumas that lead to homelessness, helping clients access important resources at Tubman and elsewhere in the community, how to interact with client youth in open, non-judgemental ways, etc.
Financial support is a continuing need, with WBUUC special collections as well as direct contributions to the Harriet Tubman East Center, designated for NSYOC. Ways to provide donated clothing, school supplies, personal care products, etc., will be provided in the near future.
WBUUC Contacts: