Storage Bin Program For Those Without Permanent Home

One of the challenges facing people living on the street, is what to do with their belongings.

A place to put those items until they are needed is the goal of a new resource that launched Tuesday in Duluth. Bins, described as Safe Storage Bins, are now available through the Damiano Center.

The run-up and launch had been a little quiet as all the pieces were put in place, but Tuesday it was ready to go. Bins are available and kept in a secure place, similar to a storage locker. It will relieve someone without a permanent home, of the need to keep and carry all their belongings. Without such a service, many people carried every item they owned with them.

"It helps also kind of lessen the stigma people are facing when they’re caring their belongings everywhere," said Jennifer Eaton, Program Manager for the Safe Storage Program. "If someone is carrying everything they own with them, it identifies them as someone facing housing insecurities, and not everyone wants people to know that. So, it's all about human dignity. And allowing them to just be able to maintain that without having to carry everything on them at all times. And not make them necessarily stand out as someone facing housing insecurity," said Eaton.

Eaton says some people also have difficulty finding a place to keep valuables or family heirlooms.

Organizers say the storage bin idea has been tried in Minneapolis with success. In Duluth, those using the program can get a bin, or get access to their bin, any weekday except Thursday. The hours are 9 a.m to 3 p.m.