Alumni Profile: When There is No Roof Overhead

Reprinted from Traditions, Summer 2018
September 25, 2018

“If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito.”—African Proverb

Monica Nilsson ’85 knows how ‘big’ the challenge of homelessness is in the Twin Cities, but she is quick to point out that even a small bit of knowledge can make a difference.

As an advocate for the homeless, both on the streets and as an advocate in county and state governmental agencies, Nilsson has seen all sides of this issue but is confident that as a society, we truly don’t want to see others suffer. However, she realizes that most don’t realize how bad the plight of homelessness is right in our backyards and don’t realize that the homeless stereotype of drug addicts and panhandlers is simply not true. That proves to be one of her biggest challenges.

“Homelessness is a math problem,” she explains. “With 5000 people in shelters every night and another 1000 without shelter and living on the streets, we pay for homelessness one way or the other.”

She explains that there is a significant cost to taxpayers when there is a lack of shelters for the homeless. For instance, a shelter costs roughly $35/night. She contrasts that with a night at Regions Hospital for a homeless person complaining of back pain who may be seeking medical help just to get shelter in extreme conditions might cost upwards of $2800. Consider a homeless person who is very hungry who commits a petty crime to steal food and ends up in jail. Even the cost of a night in jail costs $363, approximately 10 times the cost to proactively shelter a homeless person.

“As a community, we are wasting money and we can do better,” said Nilsson.

Currently working as a public policy advocate, Nilsson has made a career out of educating stakeholders and developing both short and long-term solutions to the need for shelter in our metro area. She is particularly proud of having developed emergency shelter programs in the metro and street outreach teams for those without shelter in Hennepin County. She also works with the legislature to educate them on the public issues of homelessness, as well as local health care plans to address the health concerns and access to healthcare for seniors who are homeless.

The Sisters Challenged the Concept of Charity vs. Social Justice

Nilsson credits much of her worldview to her days at Derham Hall because of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondelet and their example of social justice and service. “I learned that I didn’t want to just pray for the vulnerable or hand them a plate of food, and that I was capable of more.” She is grateful for the Sisters who challenged her and her classmates to wonder, ‘Is my charity good enough?’

She points to her first exposure of people without stable housing. “It was the first time I visited Dorothy Day Center (in high school) and I saw someone standing on the side of Randolph Avenue with a cardboard sign. Something felt very wrong.”

She also recalls how she came to understand that the people who do not have shelter may be more like her than she ever believed. It was also in high school when she left home and yet had a place to stay due to having the good fortune to have family friends who had spare bedrooms for her and a community of support that included faithful friends and caring teachers. She realized at that moment that despite her challenges at home, she was living with privilege.

It will always be true that “many students face conflict at home, domestic violence, chaos due to abuse, mental health, or chemical issue of the adults in their lives.” She realized she was not unlike others who had challenges, but instead, she had a support network that provided much-needed stability.

Empowered to Strive to Make A Difference

She also points to a sense of empowerment that she lived at Derham Hall. “What was great about Derham was that the girls were the smartest, best athletes and the leaders of every co-curricular,” Nilsson reflects. “Even if that wouldn’t be the case in the real world, we grew up believing that there was no reason it couldn’t be, because we witnessed it.”

While in high school, Nilsson found her opportunities with co-curriculars to have equal importance to the academic work. As a volleyball and basketball player, she credits the team for teaching her about relationships, pursuing things she was passionate about, and showing up, over and over. Even Student Council later influenced her to volunteer on the Boards of Directors of many local organizations that impact her life’s work.

Sit Among the Marginalized

Today, she has connected with CDH on a couple of different levels, but one image stands out. She volunteers at the Peace House, a day shelter in Minneapolis, where CDH students also work each week during their Spectrum or Seminar service component. “To see the CDH youth in their uniforms, just sitting with the people at Peace House is so important…after some time, they don’t ask what they should do next, they just know they should just ‘be’ with the people and sit among them.”

She encourages CDH students today to recognize their own vulnerability for their own growth, but also for a sense of empathy. “There are plenty of people around us that are likely struggling with issues that we will never know. And the reality is, that makes them a whole lot more like us than we may have understood.”

Her approach to homelessness recognizes that simple fact: each individual has dignity even if their personal story is one of unfortunate or tragic circumstances. And Nilsson knows we can do better.

One of the biggest challenges to solving homelessness is understanding WHO is a person without shelter. Many misperceptions exist.

PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS IN MINNESOTA
If all the homeless people in Minnesota were 100 people:

• 9 would be senior citizens
• 51 would be children and young adults
• 25 would be women
• 30 have some employment
• 37 have some college
• 4 would be military veterans
• 4 would be panhandlers