The Health Commons are drop-in centers that focus on health and healing in our local communities. The Health Commons is not a clinic, but an open, safe space where people can come together in community and share in mutual benefit.

Our mission is to provide health related education, link people to existing resourc¬es and health services and to provide basic supplies for people who can’t afford it. We want our space to be welcom-ing, inclusive and culturally relevant space for everyone. The Augsburg Central Health Commons is located in the inner city of Minneapolis. This location serves with people who are living on the streets or in the margins of our society. Typically, over 120 people visit us in a one week period. People may come in need of simple supplies such as socks or they may meet one-on-one with the nurse to discuss health conditions, life circumstance or are in need of basic support. At Augsburg Central Health Commons, there is also a Women’s Group for females to come together in friendship and build relationships. This location has been opened for over twenty years.

Our second site, located in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis, serves East African immigrants primarily. The Health Commons at Cedar-Riverside is a collaboration of three non-profits in the neighborhood, Augsburg College Nursing Department, Fairview Health Services, and the East Africa Health Project. The principles at this location are the same as at the Augsburg Central Health Commons, but the needs are different. Visitors have identified a need for more group related activities such as nutrition education, parental guidance, knitting circles and exercise classes. We opened our doors at this location in September of 2011. Our numbers have dramatically increased in the last six months as greater trust has been established with our visitors. In our first quarter this year, we had over 200 visitors meet one-on-one with our nurses, over 500 participate in an activity (such as exercise or nutrition courses), and over 2,000 attend events regarding health.

Both centers go beyond the typical scope of a community clinic to serve the following functions:

• Serve as a drop-in community resource center
• Promote access to preventative health services and continuity of care at their healthcare home.
• Offer nursing and other health-related expertise and other resources needed to improve or maintain personal and community health
• Provide a safe and caring space for residents to connect with one another
• Provide opportunity to identify community needs and expand programming in order to connect participants to needed community and health care resources
• Build relationships focused on mutuality, honesty and respect. The purpose is to create quality interactions, versus the quantity of individual visits.

A full time AmeriCorps VISTA member works with staff, faculty and students of Augsburg College to make the Health Commons the success that it is.