Please disregard the first version you received. Thank you! |
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Support Emergency Rental Assistance TODAY! |
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With an eviction rate at the highest point in a decade, Minnesotans are hurting. Please join MHP and our friends at the Homes for All coalition in advocating for the passage of Emergency Rental Assistance and the Pathway Home Act legislation now. We need YOU to contact your legislator, Speaker of the House Hortman, and Senate Majority Leader Dziedzic!
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Use the below action alert software to send an email to leadership and your own legislators. |
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Join the Campaign for Housing on the Ballot! |
Our Future Starts at Home is a statewide housing campaign for a constitutional amendment for housing. Our housing system is broken, and the goal of the campaign is to ensure the state starts making the investments Minnesotans need in housing, and secure sustainable, predictable, and ongoing funding. Our campaign principles include race equity, sustainability and climate resilience, uplifting rural voices, and accessibility. |
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The Constitutional Amendment will create three flexible funds: |
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Household & Community Stability Fund |
| | Home Ownership Opportunity Fund |
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• Help Minnesotans improve the condition of home and community. • Prevent homelessness and displacement from homes. |
| • Provide rent support to keep rents affordable for cost-burdened families.
• Create more homes that Minnesotans can afford and maintain safe and resilient homes
• Ensure renters have supportive services for quality of life and wellbeing |
| • Help more first-time homebuyers afford and access ownership, and build more affordable housing.
• Support Minnesotans and the communities in which they live, eliminate homeownership racial disparities, build wealth, and improve the quality of life. |
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President Biden Signs Executive Order to Strengthen Racial Equity |
On February 16th, President Biden has signed a new Executive Order, Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. This Executive Order will require federal agencies to issue annual public Equity Action Plans. Additionally, the order "directs agencies to spur economic growth in rural areas and advance more equitable urban development by ensuring that federal resources contribute to building wealth and opportunity in these communities through locally led development".
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The story of MHP’s technical assistance work with North Olympic Regional Veterans Housing Network(NORVHN), continues. MHP's work included instilling sound practices and procedures and facilitating strategic planning for the fast-growing organization. Critically, MHP helped NORVHN restructure its board of directors to a highly functioning body with the capacity to make important connections in the community. Executive Director Cheri Tinker shared how this has impacted the veterans that they serve, highlighting David Williams.
David was referred to them by a new board member (from the TA process) who works in direct service. Without that new connection, and the board member knowing NORVHN’s unique set of services, David wouldn’t have come, as on the surface his medical issues seemed beyond their care. |
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David, whom Cheri calls, “A quiet, delightful man,” was homeless with a mountain of health problems. Although clean and sober for 8 years when he came to Sarge’s Place (a NORVHN’s shelters), he had previously been a chronic drug user, which wreaked havoc on his memory and body. He was accepted into the shelter and the staff stabilized his medical condition. There he lived for 8 months – concurrent to MHP's technical assistance. When NORVHN built Hobucket House, a 7-bedroom group home, David was able to move right in. One night he passed away peacefully, wearing the clothes had received as a Christmas present from the staff. While David only lived at Hobucket House for 3 weeks, he died with “family,” as the Chief of Police, himself a combat vet, noted.
David had no connection to family or friends – the staff and residents of the organization were it. |
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The organization serves as the familial unit for many of the once-homeless vets, and are often listed as their next of kin. Several urns sit at Cheri's desk; she honors the vets' memory as part of their program.
Cheri says of David, “It was a beautiful thing that we could support him at the end of his life. He had a comfortable place, he was eating and drinking, he was warm, and he was dry. A man who had lived on the streets for years died with dignity in a safe environment with a sense of family. We are able to give our residents the compassion of being present with them at the end of their life." "Without that connectivity – the board being expanded and more vibrant, maybe David might not have been in our care.... That’s due to MHP’s technical assistance, which helped bring truth out from our essence. I had the scaffolding, MHP helped to create the foundation.” - Cheri Tinker |
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HUD's Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Program Now Available |
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The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is now accepting requests for technical assistance for the Thriving Communities Technical Assistance (TCTA) program. This funding will help local governments ensure housing needs are considered as part of their larger infrastructure investment plans, with a focus on disadvantaged communities.
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Join Homeless Day on the Hill 2023! |
Our friends at the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless are hosting their annual Homeless Day on the Hill (DOTH) on March 8th. Help ensure lawmakers know that homelessness needs to be one of their top priorities. This is an opportunity to show up in mass numbers and share in advocacy. |
Minnesota Housing: Input on Next Strategic Plan Requested |
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Minnesota Housing is soliciting stakeholder input as the develop their 2024-2027 Strategic Plan. The plan will help guide Minnesota Housing's work for the next four years. On March 13th, 2-3pm, Stakeholders are invited to participate in a webinar that will include a brief overview of how the strategic planning process works and breakout sessions for smaller group discussion. |
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Minnesota Housing Also Seeking Consultants forStrategic Plan |
Minnesota Housing is currently looking for 12 consultants to join efforts to develop their strategic plan. Consultants can expect to work 6-14 hours a month March to September 2023 with compensation of $50.00 per hour. Seeking a diversified team of consultants with low-to-moderate incomes and specified lived experiences. Deadline for applications: March 5th, 2023. Read a PDF with more information.
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Urban Homeworks to Host Housing Justice Forum |
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In support of Bring It Home, Minnesota Urban Homeworks is hosting their 3rd annual Housing Justice Forum on Tuesday, March 14th from 6:00-7:30pm on Zoom! |
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MDH releases the Minnesota Homeless Mortality Report |
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In January the Minnesota Department of Health released the Minnesota Homeless Mortality Report, 2017-2021. The report summarizes data from the first systematic examination of mortality among people experiencing homelessness (PEH) who die in Minnesota. The report was also the subject of a recent Star Tribune story which can be read here.
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| with MHP's Madeleine Hammerlund and Micah Coatie |
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