STEPPING UP: HOMELESS FRONT LINE
Since April, Firefighter John Jensen and Fire Medic Hali Van Velzen have incorporated weekly visits to homeless camps into their routine. The pair lead the City’s new Mobile Integrated Healthcare outreach program.
“It’s all part of building a support system,” John told me. “Our outreach program is about building communication with the homeless.”
With 911 calls on the uptick of 5 to 7 percent across the country, this and similar programs in other cities have reduced ambulance dispatches and emergency room trips for high-volume callers. In 2022, Des Moines Fire Department data shows that EMTs made 1,450 emergency room trips for 82 high-volume callers.
John and Hali meet with high-volume callers in their homes or apartments, at Bethel Mission or Central Iowa Shelters and Services (CISS) and homeless camps — whatever and wherever it takes. The services offered include:
Asking about transportation needs; they have arranged Lyft rides for medical appointments
Picking up prescriptions
Performing routine assessments
Managing chronic conditions; and
Dressing wounds.
I spent a July afternoon with the pair, bumping along the Raccoon and Des Moines trails in Medical Cart #2, a four-passenger ATV loaded with water, a stretcher, and medical supplies.
“CISS Outreach!” John shouted over a loudspeaker, as he and Hali rolled through homeless camps east of East 14th Street along the Des Moines River. “Water, free smiles!” Hali chimed in, as homeless individuals wandered to their vehicle. CISS client advocates David Macias and Molly Hadley met us at stops along the Des Moines River.
DMFD Assistant Chief Percy Coleman has high praise for the two.
“This team has shown that the key to its success is building relationships with residents, listening to their healthcare needs, and treating them with respect and dignity,” he told me. “When we understand why certain individuals are calling frequently, we can help create solutions to get them the help they’re looking for without relying on our 911 services.”
He also passed along glowing praise for John and Hali from a long-time homeless person: “ ‘Those two have provided more guidance than I’ve ever received.’ ”
“Through conversations with some of the homeless individuals we’ve treated, Assistant Chief Coleman added, “our team has learned that many of these people have been transported here from other communities and want to go home to the support systems they have there.”
Also, there is more homeless support: DMFD opened an office in Central Iowa Shelter and Services (CISS) in April, staffed daily from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. In June alone, CISS residents and walk-ins visited the Acute Care Station 180 times, with only 27 transports to an emergency room.
ANOTHER GREAT SUMMER CAMP FOR KIDS
The Parks & Recreation Summer Camp program has ended yet another successful season. For 10 weeks, 250 kids (50 per site) enjoyed free activities, attractions, and lunches at five City parks: Columbus, Evelyn K. Davis, Drake, Martin Luther King Jr., and Weeks Middle School. Parks and Recreation Supervisor Amarre Neguisse estimates that the 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekday program saved families about $300,000 in childcare costs.
Day trips included excursions to numerous Des Moines and area attractions such as the Jester Park Nature Center, the Science Center of Iowa, Blank Park Zoo, and the Neal Smith Wildlife Preserve. Activities included mini-golf at Blank Park Golf Course, and swimming lessons at Des Moines public pools, plus 50 sessions with the Des Moines Public Library’s Rosie the Reader.
Central Iowa Shelters and Services provided 10,000 lunches, delivered fresh daily to the five sites.
Amarre also reported that the camps provided summer jobs for 40, including 10 returnees from last summer’s program.
Here’s a sampling of glowing quotes from pleased parents:
“It was a good experience for my daughter to meet new kids from different backgrounds, and she really loved her staff member Sadie at Drake. My daughter said she wants to do summer day camp again! Thank you for this opportunity, especially since having it free of charge is very beneficial for hardworking families.”
“Weeks staff took the time to support and help my child. I can’t thank them enough for the constant communication, pictures, and support they showed.”
“Everyone—especially Temira—was so welcoming to our daughter. The activities and team-building exercises they did helped make the kids feel right at home and kept everyone engaged.”
IN THE BOOKS: SUMMER READING PROGRAM
Nearly 11,000 Des Moines youths registered for the Des Moines Public Library’s Summer Reading Challenge, a testament to the community's love for reading and learning. Library Director Sue Woody reports a whirlwind of activity at the six City libraries.
Sue loves to cite statistics, which included a record 10,817 youths who registered. In June, July, and August, the kids logged an impressive 1,601,280 minutes (26,688 hours or 1,112 days) of reading and learning. Also:
· 31 summer care sites participated, reaching another 1,604 kids with regular visits from the library staff.
· 801 teens attended one of 43 education programs crafted for their interests.
· Staff distributed 11,778 free books, typically graphic novels and Manga books.
· Staff made 57 visits to early education sites (207 classrooms), reaching another 2,344 attendees.
· And 652 kids got new library cards.
Sue said all that wouldn’t have been possible without the help of 61 VolunTeens, who logged 1,046 hours supporting youth programs.
HOW I SPENT MORE SUMMER: NEWLY MINTED CNA
Hoda Mohamed, right, hugs her cousin Eman Mohamed, left, at graduation ceremonies in late July for Broadlawns Medical Center’s Training & Education for a Career in Healthcare (TEACH) apprentice program. Eman, a Roosevelt High School senior, now works part-time on weekends in the Broadlawns family birthing center.
Each of the 10-week program’s 33 graduates received a certified nursing assistant (CNA) certificate plus six hours of DMACC credit. More than 140 applied for this summer’s TEACH paid apprentice program, now in its eighth year, to introduce youth to healthcare careers.
INVEST DSM SET TO CELEBRATE 5 YEARS, 1,000+ PROJECTS
Serving on the Invest DSM board is one of the highlights of my City Council work — it makes me smile to see so many dressed-up homes sprinkled around the City.
As I write this, the Invest DSM staff is scurrying about, planning a fifth anniversary celebration. And there’s plenty to celebrate! In five years, Invest DSM has completed 1,014 projects in four targeted neighborhoods: Franklin, Drake, Columbus Park, and Oak Park/Highland Park.
Created in 2019, Invest DSM furnishes homeowners with grant money from the City of Des Moines and Polk County Supervisors to, as they put it on their website, “improve their properties, strengthen their social connections, and create a community that works for them.” Homeowners add their own funds but pay less out of pocket for the renovations.
In 2024 Invest DSM committed $5,524,674 to neighborhood improvements. Program recipients invested $4.72 for every grant dollar, for a total of $26,068,497. That’s a pretty impressive return! Invest DSM 2023 report.
At our August board meeting, Invest DSM executive director Amber Lynch told us that representatives from Syracuse, New York, Philadelphia, Iowa City, and Marion, Iowa, are planning a trip to Des Moines to check out our nonprofit.
In 2025 Invest DSM is slated to add two target neighborhoods: Union Park and North of Grand-Woodland Heights.
“I love that we are re-energizing people to love where they live,” Amber told me. Amen to that!
Oh, and the celebration kicks off with a block party and open house from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Friday, September 13, at its offices on 525 Southwest Fifth Street.
BIRDLAND POOL: HELP ON THE WAY
The public never sees the filters, pumps, and piping that make up the ginormous 750,000-gallon sand filter at Birdland Pool. But the five-unit filter is vital to pool filtration.
Recently, Des Moines Parks & Recreation Director Ben Page told the Parks & Recreation board and City Council members about the urgent need to replace the sand filter, which engineers have described it as being on its last legs. A failure would shut down Birdland for the season. The project is out for bids, estimated to cost $785,000.
The Birdland improvements top the list for $20 million in upgrades to the five Des Moines public pools, spread over the next eight years. Birdland, which has hosted many national, regional, and state swim meets as far back as the 1930s, is believed to be the oldest public pool in Des Moines.
FEEDING A HUNGRY RAGBRAI CROWD
This year’s RAGBRAI event in late July was a huge opportunity for three local enterprises. They used the food preparation facilities at the Mickle Center Shared-Use Kitchen in Sherman Hill to manage their busy week, showcasing the importance of community support for local businesses.
This year’s route was the third year for Palm’s Caribbean Cuisine to follow the RAGBRAI crowd. By the time they reached Burlington, Amara Sama and his crew of four had slow-cooked and smoked 1,700 pounds of chicken wings for the lunch crowd.
In Greenfield, the crew agreed to donate all proceeds of their tips jar to the community’s recovery effort from the May 21 tornado. Nicely done: $500 will benefit the community.
“For one week,” Amara said, “people bound over bike and food [to] truly see the nice side of Iowa. We enjoy meeting all kinds of people, hearing their stories, feeding them, and exploring parts of Iowa we are unfamiliar with.” That’s Amara, left, and Raytron Lamar in Greenfield.
Amara reported that the biggest hit was his Jerk Wing meal, including one of my favorites: jolloff rice, a popular West African dish that encompasses tomatoes, chilies, onions, spices, other vegetables, and/or meat. I also can attest to the restorative boost from Palm’s smoothie combination of watermelon, blueberries, and orange juice.
Say Cheese owners Jake Whipple and his niece Sydney Williams and their crew of nine kept busy preparing sandwiches from 1,100 loaves of bread from South Union Bakery, and more than 900 pounds of shredded cheddar cheese. They reported that their BLT with cheddar cheese was the hungry RAGBRAI lunch crowd’s most popular gourmet grilled cheese sandwich.
Jake and Sydney have fed RAGBRAI riders for seven years. Their busiest day was the excellent RAGBRAI Expo wrapped around the Glenwood business district.
Lana Shope, pictured with her daughter, Meredith Leaton, baked 130 pies in the shared-used kitchen to prepare for the Lana’s Pies and Pastries stop on Indianola’s square. Riders stopped at the perfect stand: Lana is a grand champion Iowa State Fair pie baker.
Lana’s hubby, Bill, drove to Missouri to pick up the absolutely freshest fruit for Lana’s peach pie with an almond crumble top.
“We had a lot of bikers ask us if we made our [own] crust — of course we did! — and if we used canned pie filling,” Lana told me. Her crust, a finely tuned lard recipe includes vodka. “These questions led me to believe some riders want a quality pie,” she said.
HoQ Restaurant, an East Village fixture, also followed the RAGBRAI route. Owner Suman Hoque, reported serving up more than 4,800 of his breakfast wraps (containing 15,000 scrambled eggs) on the seven-day journey, a busy task for his crew of seven locals. Elliott and St. Charles were HoQ’s busiest towns.
Suman has been a RAGBRAI vendor for seven years. As his custom, he began preparing for the busy week when he started assembling, baking, and freezing homemade naan in January.
Riders also flocked to Thelma’s ice cream sandwiches for a pick-me-up. Owner Derek Lewis, a 10-year RAGBRAI veteran, reports that snickerdoodle sandwiches, based on his great-grandmother’s snickerdoodle cookie recipe, remain the top seller, with cayenne chocolate chip a rising star.
Marlo, Dereck’s 12-year-old daughter, has her own little fan base, including Iowa state troopers she sees daily. “She loves some good banter with the riders,” Dereck told me, “and always loves it when riders drop a few bucks in her tip jar labeled ‘Marlo’s Car Fund.’
“The busiest days always feel like magic and lightning in a bottle,” Derek told me. “The smaller the town, the better, with all the vendors on the route and tons of shade and grass for riders.”
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