MHP’s Native Community Development Institute supports and strengthens the capacity of Native communities to reach their community development goals through collaborative trainings, peer-to-peer workshops, and customized assistance.

Participating Native tribes build teams that convene stakeholders to tackle a project that addresses a pressing community need over 18 months.

Last month, NCDI-3 held a workshop with this round's cohort of teams including: Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, Flandreau Santee Sioux, Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, and Yankton Sioux. Teams worked with MHP and its partners to further the progress of their selected community development projects, diving into concepts like reviewing stakeholders, and establishing a core message that incorporates community feedback and housing studies.

Photo: NCDI-3 teams working with Michael Brydge and Alyssa Camp of Sweet Grass Consulting

Cheri Tinker, MSW at Hobucket House

MHP Community Development team members traveled to Forks, Washington to provide technical assistance to the North Olympic Regional Veteran's Housing Network (NORVHN) – a small nonprofit providing shelter, transitional and permanent supportive housing for homeless veterans and their families. MHP provided a two-part board development training on governance and operations to a mostly new Board of Directors. While there, MHP toured a new 7-bedroom facility for long-term supportive housing, estimated to be ready for occupancy beginning in mid-July!

HomeHelpMN provides federal assistance for homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage or other homeownership-related expenses

due to factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The program opened for applications on May 17 and has already received applications from over 2,800 households, with requests for funds representing about a third of the available funding. 

Estimates based on foreclosure and delinquency data, however, show that there are potentially tens of thousands of Minnesota households who may be eligible for the assistance. To allow more time for homeowners to request assistance, the program is extending the application period until August 17 at 5:00 p.m.

Minnesota Housing is holding an open-to-the-public virtual community meeting on June 22 at 11 am. The facilitated discussion will center around community needs, existing resources, and ways MN Housing can address gaps for our most vulnerable residents and strengthen our communities. Seats are limited and registration is necessary.

America’s Rental Housing 2022 is a new report released by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. The report indicates many lower-income households, and especially lower-income households of color, still struggle to pay the rent and outlines record-breaking conditions in the rental market. Read seven summary facts from this year’s report here.

Affordable housing is a major concern across the nation and in Minnesota. Housing disparities persist, housing costs continue to increase, and wages are not keeping up with housing costs. Agency staff and service providers concerned about affordable housing are invited to participate in this FREE webinar on June 22, 1-2 pm.

Emma Foley, research analyst from the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) and Anne Mavity, executive director MHP will share data from the NLIHC’s Out of Reach report and MHP’s State of the State’s Housing 2021 report. Resources and strategies to create and preserve housing and community assets will be introduced.

"On 'Freedom’s Eve,' or the eve of January 1, 1863, the first Watch Night services took place. On that night, enslaved and free African Americans gathered in churches and private homes all across the country awaiting news that the Emancipation Proclamation had taken effect. At the stroke of midnight, prayers were answered as all enslaved people in Confederate States were declared legally free. Union soldiers, many of whom were black, marched onto plantations and across cities in the south reading small copies of the Emancipation Proclamation spreading the news of freedom in Confederate States. Only through the Thirteenth Amendment did emancipation end slavery throughout the United States.

But not everyone in Confederate territory would immediately be free. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, it could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control. As a result, in the westernmost Confederate state of Texas, enslaved people would not be free until much later. Freedom finally came on June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. The army announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state, were free by executive decree. This day came to be known as "Juneteenth," by the newly freed people in Texas." ―The National Museum of African American History and Culture

On June 17, 2021, the White House released a statement recognizing the significance of Juneteenth and officially naming it a federal holiday. It also took the opportunity to acknowledge the racism in housing policy and published a statement that reflects a massive change in the way we view housing at the federal level. Specifically, the statement named exclusionary zoning as a main cause of racial discrimination in the housing market. In light of that, last year the national organization Yimby Action held a conversation in which panelists discussed the significance of Juneteenth, the White House’s stance on housing, and their experiences as Black YIMBYs.

As Juneteenth 2022 approaches, view this still-salient conversation with panelists:

Vox reporter Jerusalem Demsas; YIMBY Action Board Chair Ernest Brown; YIMBY Law Policy Director and Seaside City Councilmember Jon Wizard; Berkeley City Councilmember Terry Taplin

Together with US Senator Mike Rounds (SD), Senator Tina Smith (MN) introduced the Native American Rural Homeownership Act in 2021. Native CDFI leaders, staff, and key stakeholders are invited to participate in this important webinar: The Native American Rural Homeownership Improvement Act (S. 2092): Enhancing the USDA Section 502 Home Loan Program to learn more about the Act (S. 2092) and how it will strengthen the USDA Section 502 Home Loan Program, which is an important tool available to Native CDFIs in cultivating homeownership across Indian Country. Congressional staff representing Senator Rounds will present an overview of the bill and engage in a dialogue with attendees about how to get the legislation across the finish line. 

The Minnesota Chapter of Opportunity Starts at Home is a federal advocacy campaign working to meet the housing needs of under resourced Minnesotans. We organize locally and act at the federal level to secure the resources necessary to ensure that everyone has a home. This week OSAH-MN held a federal housing advocacy training and update. Several advocacy actions were recommended by Sarah Saadian of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Links referenced during Sarah’s presentation can be found here. 

We invite you to join the campaign here!

Growing ranks of renter households are facing an increasingly challenging housing market with rising rents and declining vacancy rates—a problem which has been exacerbated by the impacts of COVID-19. Current owners of unsubsidized rental properties lack the tools to preserve and improve aging properties necessary to maintain homes for current and future tenants. MHP's Market Watch research series tracks key trends in the unsubsidized multifamily rental markets throughout Minnesota as a case study for the country. MHP's eighth report in the series, in partnership with Greater Minnesota Housing Fund, tracks trends in the rental markets of Mankato, Moorhead, and St. Cloud, analyzing data for approximately 25,987 unsubsidized rental units.

There are still no assurances that lawmakers will return for a special session to pass spending bills and an agreed upon tax bill. Various groups have organized press conferences and action alerts pleading with electeds to come back and finish their work. Governor Walz, who has the authority to call lawmakers back to St. Paul, has expressed optimism that an agreement can be reached.  

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