Pam sees the people that others ignore

You may not know Pam, but you may recognize her front yard. It’s filled with signs, some overtly political, others portraits of figures like Timberwolves player Naz Reid and poet Amanda Gorman.
“It was started when Adam Johnson, an artist, made the famous George Floyd portrait,” Christian said. “So it was kind of supporting his work.”
Johnson’s artwork made local news when his Naz Reid artwork became extra popular when the Timberwolves made the playoffs in 2024. Christian has her Reid portrait next to a shirt she found down the block that reads, “When hate is loud, love must not be silent.”
Christian doesn’t mention Reid’s athleticism but rather her concern for him after his sister, Toraya, was allegedly killed by a boyfriend in 2025.
Christian, in her early 70s, has lived in the Lyndale neighborhood for 28 years, the majority of it in her set-back house just big enough for her “four-legged children” and herself.
“I have all the stuff to prove it, and then some,” Christian said with a laugh.
She grew up in a family that said hello to their neighbors and she carries on that tradition when she goes for walks around the neighborhood.
“I am sure most people don’t walk around as much as I do, because that’s kind of my jam,” Christian said, a former dog walker of 18 years. She got to know the neighborhood and its residents really well.
“I have stopped and talked with people for like 20 minutes,” Christian said. “People really need that contact right now.”
While talking to all of her neighbors is an important form of connection for her, Christian said it’s a great comfort to talk with younger people. In fact, younger people are more likely to talk to her than people her age.
“Maybe they are not as jaded,” Christian said.

Being a good neighbor
Being a good neighbor to Christian means “being observant, not turning away from things you don’t want to see.”
Case in point: Christian and others on her block watched over someone sleeping outside for five days in early November. She described walking him to Simpson Housing to take a shower and giving him food. When the Minneapolis Police Department showed up, they discovered he was an endangered and missing person and took him away.
“When I learned his status and that he was off his meds that he needed to be on, I felt vindicated because I was the one saying to people, ‘No, I’m not going to stop giving him food and have him die on our block,’” Christian said.
Christian’s neighbor Maddie Ganzlin said Christian was his number one support.
“She really loved being able to help him,” Ganzlin said. Ganzlin, in her mid-30s, is one of the young people that Christian finds easier to talk to. One fateful day when Ganzlin’s fence came down, she could see across the alley into Christian’s yard and they became friends.
Christian also helped a young man struggling with his mental health who showed up on her porch in 2022. She called 911 but requested the then-new Behavioral Crisis Response team to come out. The interaction was deemed an early success by Christian and the BCR team and it led to local news coverage.
“They were so calm, so in control and when they got onto the porch with him, they knelt down to where he was,” Christian told WCCO about the BCR team in 2022.
Before Christian opened her door in 2022, she asked herself “What would Linda do?”
Christian’s closest friend of 30 years died this summer and it’s clear why they were such close friends.
“She was the most amazing person, give give give,” Christian said. To Linda, no one was working the system or trying to get something for nothing.
“Everyone was good and wouldn’t ask for help if they didn’t need it,” Christian said.