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I became native to Minneapolis this way. While in seminary, I followed a graduating friend in his\u00a0job as a maintenance man and weekend program staff for Community Involvement Programs, an innovative program for developmentally disabled adults focused on independent living skills.<\/p>\n
This was the first time I had ever lived in a\u00a0city. I had a basement apartment in the Mauna Loa, an old brick three story building right next to I-94. Abbott Hospital was across the street, still functioning as a hospital. The Stevens Square Neighborhood had many buildings like the Mauna Loa, most built earlier in the century to house clerical and retail staff for downtown businesses. By the time I moved to Stevens Square, they were run down and filled with the sort of folks who seek lower rents in any city: the poor, college students, people working downtown in low paying jobs and outliers like the disabled, the elderly and small time criminals.<\/p>\n
Continuing to live in the building, I became a full-time program staff person. \u00a0CIP moved a few blocks further south to a larger three story apartment building on Stevens Avenue, diagonally across from Stevens Square Park. I stayed with them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I became native to Minneapolis this way. While in seminary, I followed a graduating friend in his\u00a0job as a maintenance man and weekend program staff for Community Involvement Programs, an innovative program for developmentally disabled adults focused on independent living skills. This was the first time I had ever lived in a\u00a0city. I … Continue reading Becoming native to the city<\/span>