Our projects target BIPOC youth residing in the poorest neighborhoods in Minneapolis and around Twin Cities, particularly in the high-crime and poorest North Minneapolis neighborhoods. The diverse cultural groups we serve include African Americans (Black), American Indians, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs), Hispanic/Latino Americans, and Pan African Americans (African born). Our beneficiaries are described as “Opportunity Youth”- both because they seek opportunities to improve their lives and present an opportunity to us if we invest in them. We target young people because they constitute over 50% of the population, yet they are less overlooked in representation. It is worth Poverty in North Minneapolis is distributed unevenly by race. While the White (Non-Hispanic) poverty rate is 15.1%, all other racial categories face poverty at rates of at least 25% and higher. For example, the African American poverty rate in N. Mpls (42.0%) is 35.8% higher than the White (Non-Hispanic) poverty rate in the Metropolitan Area. According to FBI data, the overall crime rate in the Near North is 175% higher than the national average and 50% higher than the City of Minneapolis. For every 100,000 people, 21.54 daily crimes occur in Near North, and a resident has a 1 in 13 chance of becoming a victim of any crime in that neighborhood.

Besides, the beneficiaries we serve also suffer from systemic racism leading to lower opportunities in life. Hence, young people become gangs and engage in drug activities due to hopelessness. Poverty in North Minneapolis has promoted antisocial behavior among the BIPOC youth leading to drug abuse, prostitution, gun violence and crime. This has highly affected determinants of health, leading increased rate of HIV infection, among other infectious diseases and mental illnesses. Furthermore, North Minneapolis disproportionally has taken in the highest percentage of ex-offenders within its empowerment zone areas. After release from incarceration, many ex-offenders return to the environments that helped create their problems and do not have adequate resources to support them through their reentry challenges. The effects of incarceration and recidivism in North Minneapolis have emerged as an overlapping and circular set of social and drug problems. This circle includes deeply entrenched economic challenges tied to poverty, low educational attainment, unemployment, and crime; growing public health needs such as drug and alcohol addictions and mental illnesses; and a problematic breakdown of the family. This circle ultimately destabilizes communities and creates a low-skilled workforce. Such challenges are omnipresent for those who cycle in and out of jails and prisons and the communities to which they return. That’s why EL dedicates its effort to change to transform the lives of these residents.