A Step Forward
Thursday, November 5, 2020 at 3:47PMArticle by Claudia Kittock
I became a volunteer in the literacy department of YouthLink nearly six years ago and soon after met Katie Miller, a staff member. Katie was immediately memorable for her humor, her grace, and her incredible skill and empathy with the young people experiencing homelessness. I am a professional observer, and observing Katie was a joy. I knew I wanted to know her.
Katie MillerOver the years we had many conversations and her skills were obvious and remarkable. Selfishly, I was sad when she told me she was resigning to become a Community Navigator with the Minneapolis Police Department. I was also excited for what she would be able to do in this position. Since Katie has been in her new role our paths have continued to cross.
Community Navigators, as a unit, were created with racial equity for the communities they serve. Each member represents a recognized community group (Native American, LGBTQIA+/Homelessness, LatinX, African American, SE African/Somali, and Intimate Partner/Domestic Violence) that the Minneapolis Police Department recognizes a need to better serve, communicate, and build positive relationships.
The personnel of the unit, because of their extensive history of social service (10+ years) prior to joining the Minneapolis Police Department, offer a novel approach to victim services, community engagement, and guardianship. This unit, as a non-sworn/civilian entity, offers the communities a different, hopefully non-threatening, interaction point, as they offer assistance through the common accords of each representative group.
Navigators also assist in recognizing how racial and/or economic inequities harm the populace, and act as connectors to resources and carriers of information both from and to community and policymakers. With the Navigators as a resource, the department increases its capacity to engage in a trauma-informed, meaningful, approachable way with communities that are hesitant to interact with police due to historical trauma, over-policing, and mistrust.
This is a wonderful step forward for our community, and one that has already shown to work. Please join us in offering this amazing group of professionals our support. They are that neighbor.
