For Joseph, having a home of his own has meant more than having a place to come back to. It has given him space to grow into the person he wants to become.
Joseph has been part of the Aeon community for quite some time; before moving to The Phillips, he lived at Barnabas Apartments for seven years. When he first moved to Barnabas, he was still navigating the transition from his teenage years into young adulthood.
Having a place of his own changed things.
“It reinforced responsibility,” Joseph said.
For the first time, he had a space where he could depend on himself, establish routines, and begin thinking more intentionally about his future.
Joseph grew up performing and entertaining, eventually traveling for music and modeling. As his creative career developed, he started his own LLC to bring more consistency and structure to his work.
Today, he is also pursuing a degree in business management, with a focus on accounting and community organizing. His next goal is to bring all the different parts of himself together by coordinating events of his own!
That goal recently became very real. Joseph opened a gallery at Dayton’s Bluff Library and was excited about the possibility of creating a larger gallery activation there. The library, located within Metropolitan State University’s Library and Learning Center, has been part of the neighborhood in its current location since 2004 and even includes a Micro Gallery featuring work from staff, patrons, and community artists.
When Joseph learned that Dayton’s Bluff Library was proposed for closure as part of Saint Paul’s 2027 budget, he saw an opportunity to use his art for something bigger. He hosted Sunrise Studies, an autobiographical installation, and combined the gallery reception with a creative community activation. The effort was historic: the morning of the activation, the community received word that the Mayor and city reversed the decision, saving the vital neighborhood hub.
This grassroots victory builds on a monumental year for Joseph; in May 2026, his dedication to Twin Cities community advocacy was honored with the George Floyd Emerging Leader Award at the Rise and Remember Festival.
That instinct to connect people has also shaped the way Joseph thinks about home… and has really shown his heart.
At Barnabas, he formed relationships with other residents around his age. Moving to a new home meant he had to restart, which has made Aeon’s community events and Resident Connections programming especially meaningful to him. He appreciates having resident coordinators who intentionally create opportunities for neighbors to meet one another.
He also knows that support is there when life becomes difficult:
“Even though I’ve done a lot in my professional life, my personal life is catching up,” Joseph said. With his family currently navigating challenges of their own, knowing he has a stable home and people he can turn to provides reassurance. “If I need help, I know I can get it.”
Family is an important part of Joseph’s life. He comes from a family of nine children and is the youngest boy. His siblings regularly remind him of how much he has accomplished and encourage him to keep going.
Outside of work and school, Joseph enjoys the simple things: reading, taking walks on nice days, and discovering new restaurants. He especially loves the diversity of food surrounding his neighborhood. His favorite restaurant is Red Sea, an Ethiopian restaurant, and he appreciates being able to experience so many different cultures close to home.
Now, Joseph is thinking seriously about his next chapter! This November, he is independently releasing his highly anticipated visual mixtape, For You, Too, which explores the liminal space between grief and growth—a complex creative project he credits his stable home environment for providing him the emotional space and security to finalize. He is exploring a first-time townhouse homeownership program and hopes to eventually purchase a home of his own.
“Minnesota is a beautiful place to be,” he said.
As Joseph moves through his late twenties and toward his thirties, he sees something in front of him that was not always there: choice. Earlier in life, transitions often happened around him. Today, he gets to decide what comes next.
Whether that means earning his degree, organizing his first event, using his art to strengthen his community, or opening the door to a home of his own, Joseph is building toward a future he gets to shape for himself.
