Memories of Roosevelt Homes

Zuag Khaab Reflects on Early Days of Motherhood in St. Paul

For Zuag Khaab, the Roosevelt Homes in St. Paul hold a distinct place in her memory as a quiet, government-assisted community where she raised her two young children in the early 1980s. She and her family lived in the public housing units for approximately one to two years, starting around 1982 or 1983.

"It was a good place to live to raise my two kids," Khaab recalled in a recent interview. As a stay-at-home mother, Khaab relied on the community's resources. A significant help was the regular arrival of WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) trucks, which provided essential items for her young family. This, combined with rental assistance, allowed her to save money for other necessities like diapers.

"This was very helpful because we had small kids and couldn’t go to the store often," she said. While the community was diverse—Khaab mentioned that most neighbors were "Mekas" (Americans) whom she only interacted with briefly—she found connection with other Hmong families in the area. They would often gather at the local playground while their children played. Khaab appreciated the convenience of the government housing, noting that maintenance was readily available to address any issues. However, the annual inspections presented a unique challenge. "Every year, you had to make sure that everything was clean and ready for inspection," she noted, a requirement she always managed to pass, though she knew others who faced multiple inspections.

Decades later, Khaab hasn't specifically planned a visit, but occasionally walks past her old unit when she is in the area. These moments evoke a sense of nostalgia for a peaceful time in her life. "There were peaceful memories of raising my kids when we lived there," she shared.

Today, however, she observes a stark change in the neighborhood's atmosphere. "It is not as peaceful there as it was when I lived there," Khaab observed. "There is more violence in the area nowadays."