OT students organize aid for those affected by Operation Metro Surge

This past winter and spring, members of the University of Minnesota Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA) raised more than $1,800 and collected roughly 700 to 800 items to donate to individuals and families who felt unsafe leaving their homes during the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in Minnesota, called “Operation Metro Surge.” The aid went toward patients of Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) who were self-isolating or unable to attend their appointments. 

Maria Kelly and Ashley Roth, presidents of the University’s SOTA branch, said they were looking to aid Minnesotans who were experiencing disruptions to participation in many of life’s daily occupations, such as paid work, homemaking, self-care, meal preparation, play, socialization and leisure activities, as well as carrying out roles such as parenting and caregiving. 

“People weren't able to leave their homes. They were getting a lot of help from the community with food, toilet paper and [basic necessities], but we wanted to focus on the [daily activities] side of things — leisure, coloring books, puzzles, math books, arts and crafts, lots of different stuff that families weren't receiving in this time of need,” Kelly said. 

Roth, who organized the Rochester donation drive, said they sorted items into five occupational categories. The education category consisted of both adult and children’s books, notebooks and workbooks. The home management category included cleaning supplies and laundry detergent while the health management category contained hygiene and grooming products. The leisure and play category was largely tailored to children, with items like coloring books, puzzles, bubbles, fidget toys, play doh and painting supplies — items that aid fine motor development, an important element of developmental progression for kids who might be missing school during an influx of immigration enforcement actions. Lastly, a miscellaneous category that houses everything else.   

The SOTA donation drive took place at a time when the students believed a lot of resources had been expended in the Twin Cities. Many Minnesotans needed rent relief. As part of their crowdfunding efforts, donors could request what their money went towards, like diapers, women’s health products or rent aid.  

“A lot more people at that point were asking for rent aid instead of physical item aid because of how many physical items had been [provided] by other organizations, so that's what we ended up using part of the money towards,” Kelly said.

Dr. Corey McGee served as the faculty liaison for the students’ initiative. He and his wife, who works as a women’s health nurse practitioner at a metro area clinic, facilitated the transfer of funds and donated items to the women's health clinic, to discharged mothers leaving the inpatient obstetrics unit and to a mobile clinic that met at-risk patients in their homes. 

“The money the students collected was used by the [obstetrics providers] at Hennepin Health to purchase necessary supplies for distribution to patients and families, help them pay rent, offset lost income, etc.,” McGee said. “After identifying the gap in the type of donations that were being gathered at HCMC, my role was to engage our students, provide them with support and guidance and facilitate the transportation of donations to HCMC.”

Kelly and Roth said they would like to continue the mutual aid efforts as long as they are needed. Though Operation Metro Surge formally ended in February, federal agents remain and ongoing enforcement and deportation proceedings continue in Minnesota. 

“I'm thinking that once a semester, this is something that we could pull together and I would like to continue to do that because there's always a need for mutual aid,” Kelly said. “We both want to continue doing this and [find additional] groups that we can help, since this was solely for HCMC.”