Minnesota Housing News

Duluth shelter poised to double in size to address growing homelessness crisis

outside of a shelter
On Friday Chum held a press conference announcing their plans to double the capacity of its shelter in downtown Duluth from 80 to 160 beds.
Dan Kraker | MPR News

Chum, the largest shelter for people experiencing homelessness in Minnesota north of the Twin Cities, has announced plans to double its capacity, helping to alleviate a chronic lack of space at its facility in downtown Duluth.

The shelter was built in 1998 on the city’s steep hillside to serve 30 people. Today it has 80 beds, but serves about 125 people every night. Many have to sleep on chairs, at tables or on the floor.

“There just isn’t enough space to provide for all the different needs that walk through our doors every day,” said executive director John Cole.

a man holds a microphone as he speaks
John Cole, Chum executive director, announces plans to spend $10 million in state and federal funding to add two stories to the organization's downtown shelter for people experiencing homelessness on Friday.
Dan Kraker | MPR News

Now that is poised to change. Chum has raised $10 million — $2 million in federal funds and $8 million from the state of Minnesota — to add two stories to its downtown building, and double the number of beds it offers to 160.

“We will provide more spaces for services, more space to meet the diverse needs of our guests, space for couples, space for gender non-conforming people, space that provides greater ADA accessibility,” said Cole.

The need for additional shelter for people experiencing homelessness has worsened since the pandemic. Encampments have sprung up around Duluth, including a high-profile one earlier this year outside Duluth City Hall and the county courthouse.

Tents outside
An encampment that began as a pro-Palestine protest grew to include many people experiencing homelessness, as pictured here on July 16. More than two dozen tents were pitched outside Duluth City Hall for several months.
Dan Kraker | MPR News

Business owners and downtown workers have voiced mounting concerns about panhandling and safety.

The issue came to a head when Duluth Mayor Roger Reinert proposed making camping on city property a misdemeanor crime. The city council eventually declined to take that step, but passed several other public safety reforms.

“We have neglected our housing system for decades, and it has brought us to this point where hundreds of our neighbors, our friends, our co-workers, our family members have had the unfortunate experience of falling into homelessness,” said Joel Kilgour, organizer for Stepping On Up, an effort launched by 12 Duluth-area nonprofits, including Chum, to end street homelessness.

Kilgour said many people have had to rely on emergency shelters such as Chum for a year or even two while they languish on long waiting lists for permanent housing.

“Our shelters were not designed for the numbers of people experiencing homelessness, and they were not designed for long stays,” said Kilgour.

a woman speaks with tears in her eyes
Colleen Rock, a guest at Chum in downtown Duluth, said there is little privacy at the overcrowded shelter, and that she cries herself to sleep every night at the press conference on Friday.
Dan Kraker | MPR News

Construction on the project is expected to start next spring and last about 18 months.

St. Louis County has allocated $1.4 million to renovate the third floor of the nearby Damiano Center to create a temporary shelter for Chum residents during construction.

“So there will continue to be shelter space available while this space is built,” said St. Louis County Commissioner Annie Harala. “And our community will then vision what that space will become. So it's an investment for the future.”

Chum still needs to raise an additional $1.2 million to fill a remaining funding gap for the project.

Colleen Rock, a current guest at CHUM, said there is no privacy in the overcrowded shelter.

"There is no quiet place to read,” she said. “There is no quiet place to think. I cry myself to sleep every night because all I see are people who are in need.”