Steve O’Neil Reaches From Beyond To Help The Homeless

Steve O'Neil passed away just weeks ago and already a dream of his is going to be breaking ground. The Steve O’Neil Apartments is an $11.2 million project which includes 44 units of permanent supportive housing and 6 units of emergency shelter for families with children who have experienced long term homelessness.

According to a release from Mary Schmitz, CHUM will operate the emergency family shelter and provide supportive services to the families living in the apartments. By integrating the family shelter within the Steve O’Neil Apartments, CHUM gains substantial savings in construction costs compared to a stand-alone structure and Chum can provide on-site supportive services and 24-hour security to families in both permanent housing and emergency shelter.

Steve O’Neil spent his life in Duluth working for Duluth’s most vulnerable families and his legacy will be continued as the new apartments and emergency shelter will not only help those families, but will also help us fulfill Duluth’s vision of itself as a city that welcomes the stranger, feeds the hungry and houses the homeless. The Steve O’Neil Apartments will be a major step in preventing long-term, chronic homelessness for families. The Emergency Family Shelter will address the initial crisis when a family becomes homeless.

This is a great way to honor a great person and would make him proud if he were still with us. I don't think he would want his name attached to it because he never did any work for gain for himself. I think it's a fitting tribute.

FYI From the release. For more info contact Chum

Steve O’Neil Apartments at101-109 West 4^th Street in the Central Hillside neighborhood.

The Steve O’Neil Apartments are a partnership between One Roof Community Housing, Center City Housing and CHUM, with financing secured through the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, Greater Minnesota Housing Fund, St. Louis County Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA), Duluth HRA, the City of Duluth Community Development Department, the Federal Home Loan Bank, NeighborWorks, Duluth LISC and others. The building will be located on the northwest corner of Fourth Street and First Avenue West, and will renew one of the most blighted blocks in the Hillside neighborhood.