Simplified: South Dakota Urban Indian Health (SDUIH) will continue working with the city to provide culturally responsive outreach to vulnerable people across the downtown area thanks to a renewed contract agreement approved by the City Council earlier this spring.

Why it matters

  • The contract renewal – a $175,000 agreement with SDUIH – marks the continuation of a pilot program started in 2023 to bring help directly to folks who need it and, by extension, avoid situations that escalate to where they're arrested for low-level crimes.
  • The program, known as the Wo'Okiye Project, helped more than 220 people last year, including helping connect 11 people with their relatives and helping others connect with treatment programs or long-term housing, said Program Manager Monica Bailey.
  • As part of the agreement with the city, the Wo'Okiye Project has people on the streets 40 hours per week. The staff walk around in teal t-shirts with the feather logo, and they'll help anyone who needs it
"Anyone and everyone that we serve, we call our relative, and we treat them as so," Bailey said, noting that while the organization has Indigenous values, they serve anyone who needs help, regardless of their ability to pay for care.

Tell me more

Michelle Treasure, homelessness services coordinator, said the city has seen great results with being more proactive in helping the city's unhoused population with street outreach.

  • She also noted that the Wo'Okiye project is helping with outreach in a way that's unique from other programs like the downtown ambassadors, but that those groups work very closely together in addition to partnerships with the county.

One of the organizations SDUIH works with most closely is the Sioux Falls Police Department.

  • Sometimes, Bailey said, police will even call SDUIH staff to help address a situation that doesn't require law enforcement attention.
"Some people don't know that that's a resource to them, to just be able to avoid making a 9-1-1 call and activating those emergency services when maybe it's not an emergency," Treasure said. "That's what these guys (SDUIH) are here for."

What happens next?

You'll see the SDUIH staff out downtown 40 hours per week throughout the year.

  • The typical boundaries for the Wo'Okiye Project are east to west between Minnesota Avenue and Cleveland Avenue, and north to south between Russell Avenue and 14th Street.

In addition, if you see someone in need of support that isn't in an emergency situation, you can also call SDUIH at 605-809-5636.