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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Carolyn
Marinan, Communications, 612-348-5969
Peer support to help pregnant moms recover from substance use disorders
UCare has awarded the county $100,000 to expand peer recovery support services for pregnant mothers who have substance use disorders.
On Tuesday, the board accepted the grant, which the county's Project Child program will use to hire a full-time peer recovery support specialist. The specialist will use their lived experience with substance use disorder to build trusting relationships with participants and promote healthy behavior change.
About 100 parents are served annually through Project Child. Over 90% of these participants have given birth to healthy babies and have been able to keep their babies.
Learn more and watch a video about Project Child.
$2M to preserve naturally occurring affordable housing
Hennepin County has committed an additional $2 million to a fund aimed at preserving the affordability of rental housing.
Commissioners approved this investment in the second phase of the NOAH Impact Fund at their Housing and Redevelopment Authority meeting February 11. This fund, managed by the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund, invests in rental properties at risk of conversion to higher rents in order to preserve affordability.
In 2016, Hennepin County was an early and critical participant in the first phase of this metro-wide fund, investing $3 million. The first phase preserved more than 700 units metro-wide, including roughly 460 (65%) in Hennepin County.
Learn more about the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund.
Protecting and restoring land in Minnetrista and Independence
The board approved an action Tuesday to enter into an agreement with the Minnesota Land Trust to co-hold two new conservation easements.
Several steps remain before the new easement agreements are finalized, but when they are, the easements will protect two ecologically significant areas in Minnetrista and Independence. A conservation easement is a set of development restrictions that a landowner voluntarily places on their property to permanently protect its natural resources.
Hennepin County, in partnership with the Minnesota Land Trust, received a $1.5 million grant from the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Fund to acquire conservation easements and restore habitat.
Current and archival board meetings, agendas and minutes are available at hennepin.us/boardmeetings.
Look for more news on the Hennepin County website at hennepin.us/news.
Discover how we're making a difference in our communities at hennepin.us/stories.
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