Salvation Army's new street outreach effort aims to provide aid to the homeless in Columbia Heights

Quita Curtis could tell the man lying on a blanket behind a van showing lots of wear and tear needed help.

She spotted the man on one of the hottest afternoons of the year camping out in Columbia Heights' Huset Park, handed him a sandwich and bottle of cold water, and struck up a conversation.

"I call it triage," said Curtis, a caseworker with the Salvation Army North, who spends two days a week in the first-ring suburb as part of the nonprofit's new Street Outreach program. "I find out why they are on the street. I validate their feelings and let them know they are not alone."

Launched just over a month ago, the outreach is a proactive effort to find those experiencing homelessness and get them shelter and provide basic needs such as food, clothing, access to a hot shower or even a gas card.

"It's the first time going to the street rather than waiting for them to come to us," said Dan Furry, a spokesman for Salvation Army North.

The outreach is bankrolled with a $564,000 Family Homeless Prevention and Assistance Program grant from Minnesota Housing and administered by Anoka County. The county has also kicked in money from the Local Homeless Prevention Fund, said Aimee Barbeau, an assistant director in the County's Social Service Department.

"It's meeting an unmet need," she said.

Curtis works in tandem with the Columbia Heights Police Department to identify locations where homeless people can be found. Sometimes with an officer at her side and other times flying solo, Curtis scouts out parks, libraries, laundromats, civic events and other places people who are homeless hang out.

As a Black woman, Curtis says it's risky and awkward at times to approach those who she does not know, but by giving her name — pronounced Queet-a — with a smile, she seems to break the ice.

"The name is catchy, that helps," said Curtis, a self-described social butterfly. "I am all about rapport. I wear my heart on my sleeves. I'm a graduate of the MacGyver University" she added in a reference to the TV series whose main character was a war hero with a knack for problem-solving. "If there is a will, there is a way."

And that is what led her to Larry Williams, 51, who was on his way to rehab, was living out of his van that had run out of gas and had nowhere to stay. They talked for more than an hour before Curtis was able to get Williams entered into a computer system to get him registered to receive housing and other services.

"Now I can advocate on his behalf," Curtis said, as she handed Williams a carton of cookies, toiletries, sanitation wipes and gave him an address where he could get a hot shower.

Curtis also worked with Columbia Heights Police Sgt. Jason Piehn, who gave Williams a parking pass allowing him to stay in the park after hours.

Williams was moved to tears.

"She treated me as a human," Williams said. "She told me how to keep my head up."

Furry said the new outreach, which could expand to Blaine and Coon Rapids in the future, is critical in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling that gives local governments the ability to fine or arrest people sleeping on the streets.

"This is about being compassionate," Furry said. "Writing tickets does not solve anything."

Curtis said helping folks like Williams is rewarding, and "that keeps my battery energized."

Curtis will be on the streets through September 2025 when the grant is due to expire.