The Landing MN’s four-year journey into its new day center at 426 3rd Avenue SE is marked by a series of lives changed for the better as a result of their relationship-centric approach to assistance.

The organization opened the doors of its new day center to the city on Sunday, providing a larger ‘soft landing’ for people experiencing homelessness in Rochester. Operating from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, the facility provides immediate assistance from an array of services for those in need, with an emphasis on humanity, love, and trust.

“We've spent the last four years building trust-based relationships with this population so that the services are well-utilized — because they're provided by people they know and trust,” says Holly Fifield, co-founder of The Landing MN.

The center features a day room for rest and recovery. Its commercial kitchen provides three meals a day, and guests can avail themselves of showers, bathrooms, laundry facilities, and a resource room with clothing, toiletries, and other necessities. On-site social services aid with application processes, encompassing things like government assistance, housing, and insurance.

The center also has on-site medical care, thanks to partnerships with Mayo Clinic and Winona State University-Rochester’s nursing program. A medical provider is on site six days a week, and nursing students provide health education, screenings, haircuts, and nail and foot care.

Location was also a consideration when selecting the site; when the center closes for the evening, guests can walk across the street and down the block to the Rochester Community Warming Center, 200 Fourth Street SE, which is open from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. The center is also just half a mile away from the Salvation Army, 20 First Avenue NE.

That connectivity does not come cheap, however. The property cost $1.8 million, and another $800,000 to renovate. Monthly operating costs run between $50,000 and $60,000. According to Fifield, roughly 70 percent of The Landing’s funding comes from private donations, while the rest is from corporate and government grants.

In an effort to boost client outcomes, The Landing has cultivated collaborative relationships with other community entities including the Rochester Police Department, The Salvation Army, and Channel One Food Bank. Much of the organization’s work is performed by volunteers, though, which the day center increases the need for. The good news is Rochester seems to be rising to the occasion — nearly 100 people registered for the training sessions on November 10 and 11.

“We're definitely going to need a lot of volunteers to help with cooking,” says The Landing’s day center manager, Shawna Bowman. “So right now, we are all learning how to run a commercial kitchen.”

Community-via-food is something that The Landing can trace back to its origins; one of the first programs they launched was “Saturday Suppers,” a sidewalk potluck served on folding tables.

Other tasks include sorting and folding clothing donations, maintaining the facility, and socializing with guests.

Every bit helps, as daily volunteer Bruce Stolpe can attest. Stolpe and his wife felt compelled to move back to Rochester after learning about The Landing from his sister. The two had spent the last 16 years ministering to the needs of their “friends on the streets” in southern California out of a catering truck.

Volunteers do not need to have the same depth of experience as Stolpe, though, “It's more their heart that we look for - anyone who has love and compassion and wants to show our clients love,” says Bowman.

Even something as simple as a haircut provides many benefits — any positive interaction “can really help [our guests] boost up their ability to think outside of their current situation and look forward to something better,” says Fifield.

The center’s capacity is roughly 110 people, and staff anticipates being able to seat and serve 60 guests at a time — the organization’s daily average number of guests in a day is between 60 and 80 people.

In 2022, according to Alex Hurlebaus, The Landing’s director of social services, the organization served 882 unique individuals in Rochester. The organization gathers data with a check-in and intake process.

“Before we're even moving in, we know that our current center is too small. So it's going to need to be expanded at some point or moved to a bigger location,” says Fifield, who suspects the pandemic’s full effect on homlessness has yet to be seen, considering a continued lack of affordable housing and the end of eviction moratoriums.

To learn more, or volunteer, visit www.thelandingmn.org. For monetary donations to the day center, check out the Building Blocks fundraising campaign.

Bryan Lund is a Rochester-based writer and regular contributor to Med City Beat.

Photography by William Forsman