Board Profiles
 Four decades on the streets
Patrick Wood, longtime advocate and Simpson board member has devoted his life to helping people find home
On any given night in Minnesota, 9,200 people are experiencing homelessness. After speaking with Patrick Wood, you get the sense that he has met most of them.
Patrick has been a long time advocate for people experiencing homelessness. Patrick doesn’t do his work at a desk or a podium. He scales river banks, camps out under bridges, and sits beside the people who are out on the streets. He listens when no one else will and looks into the eyes of those that many choose to avoid.
Throughout the last 40 years, Patrick has been helping the homeless see that they are a vital part of the community. He helps people see that they are important and they belong.
Patrick cut his teeth in the late 1960s in Detroit, working at the infamous Eloise Hospital, helping de-institutionalized patients find their way in the community. Patrick began to see people in need of mental health services slipping through the cracks of society.When a friend encouraged him to move to Minneapolis, Patrick thought: “Why not? I love the cold.” And he knew that there would be people in need of his help wherever he went. Having weathered his own bouts with mental illness, Patrick had a way with people who had trouble fitting into what could be referred to as main stream society.
Learning the lay of Minneapolis by working as a cab driver, Patrick first stayed in what is commonly referred to as a flop house or transient hotel. “A person grows up by being around grown-ups. These houses were close-knit communities and for $2 a night, you were connected to a guy at the front desk who knew everything,” Patrick says. “No community is made better by people living under bridges,” asserts Patrick. And throughout the 1980s, Patrick was seeing more and more people making their homes there. “Brilliant, resourceful people were being wasted. What we needed was to build real bridges for them back into community.”
Patrick was working as a mental health outreach counselor and saw a large chunk of the homeless population being underserved. Patrick had a dream of a clinically-based outreach program to help connect people to available benefits and services. Many in the homeless community were distrustful: Patrick had an in. He knew where they lived and he knew the homeless community gatekeepers who were his entrée into deeper levels of the homeless society. He dressed like they did and most importantly, he listened to what they had to say. He allowed them to be, as he puts it, “architects of their own success.”
The roster of people Patrick has helped is endless. Eugene sticks out. A Vietnam vet, “Gene” had been on the streets for 25 years, the last 15 in a dumpster behind a Minneapolis warehouse. Patrick’s four-year patience with Gene paid off. He got him connected with his VA benefits and most importantly, convinced him that there was a better life for him. Patrick smiles when he thinks about Gene in his apartment. Sadly, many of the people he has known throughout the years have died.
Patrick is a quiet, dignified, soft and well-spoken gentleman. He believes that to permanently house people, we must help them see themselves as part of the community and a citizen of this country. “Recent initiatives to register homeless people to vote are a solid start to giving them the voice that is theirs.”
 Ben Reed: Volunteering with Simpson has been a life changing experience
A member of the Simpson Board of Directors and Volunteer Coordinator at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics, Ben Reed was born in Pusan City, South Korea and was adopted at the age of three.
Growing up in St. Paul, Ben graduated from Carleton College with a B.A. in Biology. He currently lives in Minneapolis. A passion for the work of non-profits was instilled in Ben at an early age by his parents. “Both my mom and dad encouraged me to seek out opportunities to help others and taught me that it is my responsibility to do so.”
Ben admits that when he was invited to join the Simpson Board of Directors his knowledge of the issue of homelessness was limited to what the media told him. Determined to change that, Ben jumped in with both feet and began volunteering overnight in the men’s shelter. The experience has changed his life.
“I wanted to hear from the guys about their lives and experiences. I was hooked after my first shift. The men at the shelter have amazing stories and are some of the most courteous people I have ever met. I encourage anyone who can devote some of their time to seriously think about becoming a volunteer. It is something that I look forward to doing,” Ben says.
Since volunteering with Simpson, Ben’s passion for ending homelessness has grown. So has his belief that it is possible. “Homelessness is something that can be realistically ended and everyone who works with the issue firmly believes this. Simpson views every individual and family member served as a person worthy of respect. I hear the people who utilize the shelter while they are in transition say that Simpson is the “Cadillac” of shelters and from my point of view, Simpson is a leader among organizations who are working to end homelessness.”
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Julie Manworren, Simpson Executive Director; Margaret Jones, Board of Directors; Elizabeth Hinz, Minneapolis public schools' district liaison for homeless and highly mobile students.
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Focus on Margaret Jones
Margaret Jones learned about Simpson Housing Services in March of 2001 when she and her children needed a place to call their own. A friend told her about the agency and suggested that she call. Margaret called and was lucky enough to get selected in the Family Housing lottery.
During her tenure in the Transitional Housing Program she worked weekly with Janelle Leppa, her Advocate. Margaret worked diligently to finish high school, nurture her children, and earn a living. In September, she exited the program early stating, “I think that someone else now needs this opportunity more than I do.”
Last fall, Margaret was elected to serve a 3 year term on the Simpson Housing Board of Directors. Margaret has a demonstrated passion to help other people, particularly troubled teens and teen parents. She wants to share her life story and experience as a means of providing hope and guidance to young people.
Her dream is to start a non-profit agency some day. Her advice for parents includes, “pour love into your children rather than telling them that you can’t wait for them to turn 18. It will change how they live their lives.”
Margaret noted that her service on the Simpson Housing Board of Directors is a great experience. It is an opportunity to contribute and to learn. “Simpson Housing cares about the people they work with, the staff are not just at work, their hearts are in it.” According to Margaret, “Janelle is awesome. When she came to my house I used to ask her ‘how do I get to be where you are?’ Now I am on the Board of Directors!” The Simpson Housing Services Board is enriched by her willingness to serve.
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