In her first couple of weeks serving as the new outreach specialist in downtown Duluth, Renée Graves is already helping to connect one man to accessible housing.

"I've been fortunate that this individual expressed he felt respected by me," Graves said. "He felt our encounter was genuine. … He also referred a friend to my services."

The downtown outreach specialist position was created after the Duluth City Council voted in September to approve $300,000 in American Rescue Plan funding to add to the Greater Downtown Council's Clean and Safe Team that's partnered with Block by Block, an organization with services around the country that the Downtown Council has been working with since 2005.

The social services outreach position is part of a pilot program that's currently funded for three years.

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