the Duluth Area Transition Coalition meeting on Wednesday June 24th, 2020 from 1-3pm. Carl Crawford, Human Rights Officer for the City of Duluth, will be joining us to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on marginalized communities in our region as well as the resiliency within our communities in response to this pandemic. The Duluth Transition Coalition works to strengthen the partnerships that intersect with individuals transitioning from incarceration to community by bringing together community members and organizations. This meeting will be held via Zoom and a link will be sent out a week before the event. Please feel free to invite anyone you think may be interested. I look forward to this important discussion and hope to see you there! Please reach out with any questions to alovold@soarcareers.org

Ramsey County’s COVID-19 Racial Equity and Community Engagement Response Team (RECERT) has two contracting opportunities that might be of interest to you and/or your organization

The RECERT is planning to partner with community providers for: 

1) Media Messaging - The objective is to ensure that individuals and families are engaged and have timely, accurate and up-to-date information about COVID-19 in Ramsey County communities. Multiple awards will be made to those who can provide media services to aid the county in getting culturally specific, relevant, linguistically appropriate, accurate, and timely messages and communication related to COVID-19 to racially, ethnically and culturally diverse communities in Ramsey County. Media services may include formats such as online, radio, print, direct mail, social media, television/video and other culturally specific and appropriate forms of communication and messaging.
2) Trusted Messenger - The objective is to ensure that individuals and families are engaged and have accurate and up-to-date information to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and can access resources and services for which they qualify both in their community and with Ramsey County. Multiple awards will be made to those wo can cover a range of outreach, engagement, resource connection and referrals that reach diverse racial, ethnic and cultural communities.

If you are interested in receiving one of these opportunities or both, please send an email to karen.bollinger@co.ramsey.mn.us and I will send all of the documents.

Here are key deadlines:
-Questions specific to these opportunities are due June 4, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. CST
-Responses are due on June 9, 2020 by 3:00 p.m. CST

Topics and Issues for Providers Serving People Experiencing Homelessness During COVID-19

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been amazed at how rapidly and creatively you have worked to make sure people experiencing homelessness are protected. These are tremendously challenging times and you are doing remarkable work. I am so grateful for all you are doing and your willingness to continue to step into new roles and do whatever is needed as our circumstances shift, sometimes within hours or minutes.
While COVID has stretched us all in ways we have never been stretched before, this week has been one of the hardest and most devastating weeks in our state’s history. The murder of George Floyd is a horrific tragedy. It brings to bear the systematic racism and injustice our African American and Indigenous citizens face every single day. People experiencing homelessness, who are disproportionately indigenous people and people of color, experience injustices in so many ways, on so many levels and have for so, so long. We are outraged and grieving and hopeful that this moment will, at last, lead to true systemic change.
In response to the unrest in Minneapolis and St. Paul we have witnessed Minnesotans come together to help each other in multiple ways. Through a remarkable partnership that included government agencies, outreach workers, housing providers, transit companies, law enforcement agencies, hotels, and philanthropy, in three days we were able to work together to bring nearly 200 people from the most vulnerable encampments indoors, including more than 70 people from the Sabo bridge encampment in Minneapolis on Thursday and another 100 people yesterday from encampments at the History Center in St. Paul and the Stevens, Cedar, and Greenway encampments in Minneapolis. Leaders from outreach teams, law enforcement, and local and state governments showed up in all kinds of ways (often doing work they may have never done before) to engage and support campers in the midst of uncertain and potentially dangerous conditions. All of us were focused on the immediate goal of getting everyone we could out of harm's way to a safer location inside. We are especially grateful to Avivo and Start Today for partnering with us to support people now in the hotels.
Through some remarkable flexibility and innovation, DHS found a way to use State Housing Support resources and the Emergency Services Program resources to help these responses operate. And, most importantly, everyone who came inside is now positioned to leave the hotel into housing (when identified), with housing assistance and ongoing supports in place. This is an incredible moment and a true example of the fact that we can end homelessness for people. We can come together to do things differently; to see homelessness itself as the emergency and public health issue that it is; to act.
To sustain this work, the partners who courageously stepped up over these last few days, need your help. Avivo is hiring four Case Managers for Housing Support. Please spread this job posting to your networks and encourage people to apply. Interested applicants can apply HERE

Webinar Series: Providing Culturally Relevant Crisis Services During COVID-19

The multi-part webinar series Providing Culturally Relevant Crisis Services During COVID-19 is now available for viewing on the Great Lakes Current YouTube channel and on the Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC websites. A list of the available recordings in this series and details about each presentation are provided below.

AVAILABLE RECORDINGS:
Providing Culturally Relevant Crisis Services During COVID-19 (Part 1): The Morbidity of National Trust and Mental Health Disparities - Past, Present, & Future | Presented By: Albert Thompson

Providing Culturally Relevant Crisis Services During COVID-19 (Part 2): Culturally Responsive Factors To Consider During Crisis | Presented By: Dr. Michelle Evans, DSW, LCSW, CADC

Providing Culturally Relevant Crisis Services During COVID-19 (Part 3): Culturally Responsive Factors for Hmong Communities | Presented By: Dr. Pang Foua Yang Rhodes, PhD, LMFT

* Click Here for Transitions Fairs Updates *

* Click Here for Transition Coalition Meeting Updates *

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