The blue shirts of Somali Youth Link members have become a staple around the Stone Arch Bridge, Boom Island Park and Dinkytown. And the program has continued to receive positive feedback.

By Elliot Hughes

Somali Youth Link member Abdi Llahi, left, and director Basheir Elmi signal for people to slow down on scooters as they walk through the Dinkytown area in Minneapolis. (Ayrton Breckenridge/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Seven members of Somali Youth Link were walking just outside Dinkytown late on a Saturday night when they saw people hanging out in a dimly lit parking lot.

Twenty yards away, the group appeared only as silhouettes. Abdi llahi — one of the youngest members of SYL, a city-funded group of Somali elders who walk Minneapolis at night to keep an eye on their community’s juveniles — turned to his companions and suggested approaching them.

But before they even had a chance, the silhouettes realized who had taken notice of them. They wordlessly packed into a car and left. Two women made for the parking lot’s exit by foot.

The women were met by Basheir Elmi, the leader of the elders that night. He greeted them in Somali, then switched to English. He asked for their age and how they were doing.

The two women smiled. They said they were 19 and 20 and having a good time. They looked at the elders in front of them — all dressed in blue shirts with the depiction of a lion — and asked what they were doing.

Elmi explained they are just making sure young people are making good choices.

“That’s so cool!” one woman exclaimed. “I hope you have a great night.”

It was never confirmed whether those who fled in the car were Somali or not. Either way, breaking up a group of young people in a dark parking lot before anything can go haywire is what SYL wants.

“That’s what we strive for — zero events,” Elmi said.

This is the second year members of SYL have patrolled city streets in areas where Somali kids tend to congregate, making sure they stay out of trouble. After a promising showing in 2023 as a privately funded pilot project, the program received a $300,000 contract with the city earlier this year to expand its services.

The group was formed after a series of events in recent summers involving Somali youth, ranging from loitering, reckless driving, shooting fireworks at people or sneaking into college parties.

The blue shirts of SYL have since become a staple in those target areas — surrounding Minneapolis’ Stone Arch Bridge, Boom Island Park and Dinkytown — and the program has continued to receive positive feedback.

“[Business owners] have said, ‘Yes, we’ve seen them walking the streets and it has been a big help; we like that visibility,’” said Nick Juarez, the community engagement liaison for the University of Minnesota’s Department of Public Safety. “Now they know, if they’re going to come down to Dinkytown, they know they’re going to run into the elders from Somali Youth Link.”

A culturally specific solution

*Farhio* Khalif, a Somali Youth Link director and community advocate, answers a phone call in Minneapolis last week. (Ayrton Breckenridge)

The issues with Somali youth began occurring around the time of the pandemic, when schools were closed, social services were shut off and children in general lacked a normal daily structure, said Farhio Khalif, a director of Somali Youth Link and community advocate.

Source: The Minnesota Star Tribune