Skyline Tower – American Red Cross Minnesota and Dakotas Region

Shylo Stevens received an urgent phone call in the early morning hours of Sunday, October 26, after a fire broke out on the 12th floor of Skyline Tower, a high-rise apartment complex in St. Paul, Minn. It was, she quickly learned, an all-hands response to help the residents.

*Shylo Stevens with CommonBond talks with a Red Cross volunteer. Photo: Nate Russell/American Red Cross*

“At first, I wasn’t really knowing what I was walking into,” says Shylo. “It was a lot of trying to figure out what had happened. What were the top priorities for our residents as we work through this?”

Shylo is a community program manager for CommonBond, an affordable housing nonprofit that manages the Skyline Tower apartments. With so many residents displaced, Skyline Tower residents needed to be temporarily housed in close to a dozen different hotels across the Minneapolis and St. Paul metro area.

“It was getting them into hotels, figuring out who needs the police or fire department to bring them down if they had mobility difficulties and couldn’t come down on their own, as our elevators were out. With all that support, we were able to fully evacuate the building.”

*Red Cross volunteers fill grocery packages for Skyline Tower residents displaced from Skyline Tower in St. Paul, Minn. Photo: Nate Russell/American Red Cross*

Skyline Tower’s resident population is made up of about 1,500 individuals and families, many that migrated from other countries, the majority from Somalia. They’re tightly knit, says Shylo. “The sense of community I got that night, I can’t even explain. Just so many people coming in to assist left and right through this crisis, it was really beautiful to see.”

With so many residents displaced across close to a dozen Minneapolis–St. Paul hotels, some rooms had kitchenettes while others did not.

To support food relief for people with kitchenettes, Red Cross volunteers assembled more than 150 grocery care packages that contained weekly staples, such as rice, onions, bullion, and more, based on input from residents and local faith-based experts. And for those without kitchenettes, the Red Cross partnered with local restaurants, such as Afro Deli and Grill, to provide nutritious and comforting hot meals from a kitchen that residents trust.

*Red Cross volunteers pick up hot meals from Afro Deli & Grill. Photo: Nate Russell/American Red Cross*

Many people in the Skyline Tower community are of the Muslim faith and have strict halal dietary restrictions. To help meet the need, the Red Cross shifted early from the typical feeding approach used on many disaster responses to one tailored specifically to this community. The help, Shylo says, has been amazing.

“You know, here, soon it will be Thanksgiving, and you have to feed your family a meal. Now imagine trying to feed 1,500 people. You have residents who like certain things that others don’t, and many who choose their meals strictly based on their religious practices. There are certain things that they simply cannot eat, and it’s not because they choose not to, it’s their beliefs, their morals, and their values.”

Minnesota has the largest Somali population in the United States, with the majority residing in the Minneapolis and St. Paul metropolitan area. The relationships formed during this response will help the Red Cross better address community needs during future disasters.

In addition to food relief, Red Cross volunteers have facilitated relationships between CommonBond and other disaster response partners.

“One of the things that the Red Cross has been very helpful with is the connection with Ramsey County workers – they’ve been on site at the hotels working with the residents to make sure they have paperwork, their Medicaid, their insurance, so they’re kind of taking that off of our plate, so that residents aren’t missing that gap period during this time,” says Shylo.

*A Red Cross volunteer views damaged apartment units with a repair worker at Skyline Tower, St. Paul, Minn. Photo: Nate Russell/American Red Cross*

Around half of the displaced residents returned home at the end of October. The remaining displaced residents await building repairs. Red Cross teams will continue to work alongside CommonBond as people continue to recover from this disaster.

Story and photos by Nate Russell/American Red Cross Volunteer

When a fire and power outage forced more than a thousand residents from Skyline Tower in St. Paul on October 25–26, the American Red Cross moved quickly to help. Within hours, volunteers were working alongside the City of St. Paul, CommonBond Communities, The Salvation Army, and other partners to make sure everyone had a safe place to stay, warm meals to eat, and someone to turn to for comfort and care.

Local Red Cross volunteers Todd Johnson and Marilyn Birk serve meals to families impacted by the fire and power outage at Skyline Tower in St. Paul, Minn.
Photo: Nate Russell/American Red Cross.

Every day since, responders have been connecting with residents as they recover across the Twin Cities, offering meals, listening to concerns, and finding ways to meet each person’s needs with dignity. Behind the scenes, volunteers have coordinated food deliveries, managed logistics, and worked hand in hand with community partners to keep things running smoothly.

More than 70 trained Red Cross responders, most of them volunteers from across Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota, have come together to support this response, each bringing compassion, skill, and heart to the work.

“We know the people need the help, and the Red Cross has the partnerships and the means to be able to provide that,” said Todd Johnson, a volunteer helping provide meals. So far, Red Cross teams have provided more than 4,100 (as of 11/3) warm meals and thousands of snacks with help from The Salvation Army and local partners. “This is the heart of what we do.”

Jeff Thelen and Matt Bellin, two of more than 70 Red Cross responders, help unload food to be served to residents affected by the Skyline Tower fire and power outage.
Photo: Sue Thesenga/American Red Cross.

Health and mental health volunteers are helping replace lost prescriptions, check on medical concerns, and offer a listening ear. “A lot of our services revolve around helping them with that first small step. It might be just someone to help them get their medications replaced and that’s one less thing for them to have to worry about,” said Rick Larkin, who is leading Disaster Health Services. “But we also have disaster mental health volunteers, because this is super stressful for people. It’s a friendly ear; it’s a reassurance that recovery will begin soon.”

The Red Cross continues to work closely with cultural and community organizations to ensure services honor the diverse languages, traditions, and nourishment needs of Skyline Tower residents. Every act of kindness, whether it’s a shared meal, a gentle conversation, or a moment of rest, reflects the spirit of partnership that has defined this response.

“This is one of the largest responses our region has supported,” said Brice Johnson, CEO for the American Red Cross Minnesota and Dakotas Region. “But more than that, it’s a reminder of what can happen when neighbors come together to care for one another.”

As parts of Skyline Tower reopen, residents are beginning to return home. “We’ll be here,” said Johnson. “In the days and weeks ahead, we’ll stand alongside residents, helping meet immediate needs, supporting them as they rebuild a sense of stability, and offering resources and reassurance that things will get better.”

How You Can Help

Support Disaster Relief. Every day, disasters like this remind us how quickly life can change and how powerful compassion can be. The Red Cross helps communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies large and small.

You can make a difference. Visit RedCross.org ,call 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767), or text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a financial donation.

An average of 90 cents of every dollar we spend goes toward providing care and comfort for those in need.

Put on a red vest and join us. Visit RedCross.org/GiveTime to learn how you can support your community. For disasters big and small, Red Cross volunteers provide comfort on what can be the hardest days of people’s lives.