Heading Home Hennepin Monthly Newsletter
In this issue:
Volunteers are needed for the 2023 unsheltered point in time count
Volunteers are essential to assure our community conducts a comprehensive and thorough count. Your role as a volunteer will be to complete surveys with people who are sleeping in places like cars, parks, or train stations.
Volunteer can expect to:
- Work with a team to administer brief, 10-minute surveys to people experiencing unsheltered homelessness at a site-based location
- complete mandatory training
Mandatory volunteer training
If you are interested in volunteering:
-
Sign up here (SignUpGenius).
- Watch the volunteer training video that will be shared with you. Please note that viewing this training is required in order to participate as a volunteer in the PIT count.
- Contact Jenna at jenna.tomlinson@wilder.org if you have any questions.
To learn more about the 2023 Point in Time Count, visit Hennepin.us/PIT.
Care coordination now available in HMIS
Use the care coordination to view critical information and connect to housing focused case management
Beginning January 23, shelter, outreach, drop-in and case management HMIS users in Hennepin County will see a new helpful display of information on the HMIS Client Summary page. The Care Coordination Assessment brings together information from across HMIS to show an up to date "snapshot" of a client's record.
Reference this assessment to quickly view and update critical information, like coordinated entry status, that can be used to connect someone with housing and to record client interest in housing-focused case management. Click here for more details.
Questions?
If you have questions, contact Mark.Legler@Hennepin.us.
Connect with housing case management
The referral process for Homeless to Housing is changing
Since the Homeless to Housing team launched officially in November 2021, staff have helped to house more than 375 people who previously were experiencing homelessness.
A new process, launching in February 2023, builds on this success and rolls out improvements that are meant to make the process more efficient and equitable, so everyone has an equal shot at getting connected to a case manager and housing.
Any person that meets program eligibility can indicate interest in the Homeless to Housing program and housing case management in general by talking with service providers who have HMIS access. This includes members of county outreach teams, and staff at shelters, drop-in centers, Adult Shelter Connect and many others.
Add someone to the interest list
Homeless service providers who have access to HMIS, can add an eligible person to the housing case management interest list. To do this:
- Log into HMIS and go to a client's profile
- Scroll down to section titled “care coordination”
- Under "case management interest" answer yes
- Update the contact information for the client
- Scroll to very bottom of page click "save and exit"
Click here for detailed instruction.
Once a person is added to the interest list, and as caseload openings become available, the team will follow up, confirm eligibility, and then start working with them.
Supportive Housing Capital RFP
Apply through the Supplier Portal by February 16
Up to approximately $6 million is available for capital funding to develop long-term affordable supportive housing projects through Hennepin County’s Supportive Housing Strategy.
The Supportive Housing Strategy serves specific priority populations of especially vulnerable Hennepin County residents for whom housing instability leads to the worst health and safety concerns. These populations typically have extremely low incomes, great need for assistance to live independently, and limited or no other access to existing supportive services. Please see the 2023 Supportive Housing Capital RFP for details regarding this year’s priority populations.
Access the RFPs and apply
All proposals must be submitted through the Hennepin County Supplier Portal.
- Visit the Supplier Portal
- You can view the separate RFPs and materials by clicking the specific RFP you wish to view in the "Events" panel on the right half of the screen
- To apply, follow the on-screen instructions
You will need to be registered in the Supplier Portal to submit an application. For detailed instructions on how to register and submit an application, visit the Supplier Portal help page.
Minnesota Housing is seeking your input
Minnesota Housing is looking for feedback on how to allocate approximately $31M of HOME American Rescue Plan (HOME ARP) funds.
Please complete the brief survey (links below) by 5 p.m. (Central time) on Tuesday, January 31. It should take no more than 5-10 minutes. You can remain anonymous or identify yourself or your organization. We will use your responses to inform our funding allocation decisions.
Survey Links:
Once we review all survey responses and other feedback, we will share the results in the draft HOME ARP Allocation Plan. We plan to publish this in early-mid March.
The link to the survey is also available on our HOME ARP webpage.
One-Time Allocation of Federal Funds
The HOME ARP funds can be used for the following activities and qualified populations:
Eligible Activities
- Production or preservation of affordable housing
- Tenant-based rental assistance
- Supportive services, homeless prevention services, and housing counseling
- Purchase and development of non-congregate shelter
Qualified Populations
- Homeless
- At risk of homelessness
- Fleeing, or attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking
- Other populations who do not qualify under any of the populations above but meet one of the following criteria:
- Other families requiring services or housing assistance to prevent homelessness
- Those at greatest risk of housing instability
Questions?
If you have questions, visit the HOME ARP webpage or email mhfa.home-arp@state.mn.us.
Task Force on Shelter has submitted its final report
The Task Force on Shelter held their final meeting on December 12, 2022, and submitted their final report to the Legislature on December 15, 2022.
In 2021, the Minnesota Legislature authorized the Task Force on Shelter and charged the group to develop standards for the provision of shelter and examine the need for, and feasibility and cost of, establishing state oversight of shelter. The Task Force on Shelter was required to examine existing shelter policies and practices in shelters of all types, engage stakeholders, and make recommendations to the legislature regarding standards that will strengthen the shelter system and ensure that shelters have the ability and resources to provide safe and appropriate shelter services to those in need. The Task Force had 24 members and met monthly between August 2021 – December 2022. Learn more about the Task Force on Shelter at https://mich.mn.gov/task-force-shelter.
The Cultural Wellness Center and Pohlad Family Foundation Launch Initiative to Recognize and Support Black Community Advocates
Collective effort designed by the community to invest in itself
Minneapolis - The Cultural Wellness Center (CWC) and Pohlad Family Foundation (the Foundation) invite local Black leaders, healers, artists, or agents of change to participate in the Black Legacy and Leadership Enrichment Initiative. A first-of-its-kind community-designed effort, the initiative’s purpose is to give Black activists the resources and support to recharge themselves so they can better serve the community.
The Foundation and the CWC partnered with members of the Black community to create a three-year pilot that will include seven people each year, or 21 people. Selected individuals, called initiates, will each receive an unrestricted grant of $55,000 for their own self-care and revitalization. They will also participate in a yearlong journey of self-study to connect their work with their cultural calling through activities that include retreats, elder coaching, group reflection with other cohort members, and other opportunities for learning and discussion. In addition to the $55,000, there is also $15,000 for initiates to allocate to specific responsibility-bridging activities as they take care of themselves so they may better serve the community.
To be eligible for the inaugural cohort, potential initiates must be:
- A U.S.-born descendant of enslaved Africans;
- At least 18 years old at the time of the application deadline (Jan. 30, 2023);
- A leader, healer, artist, or agent of change who lives in the seven-county Twin Cities metro area; and
- Open to participating in a year-long cohort model that includes light programming, coaching, and learning.
All applications to the 2023 Black Legacy and Leadership Enrichment Initiative must be received by January 30, 2023, at 11:59 pm. To learn more about eligibility and how to apply, go to bllei-twincities.com. There will be a virtual information session on January 9, 2023, from 11 am - 12:30 pm. Potential initiates and interested community members may email bllei@culturalwellnesscenter.org for more information.
The Heading Home Hennepin monthly newsletter aims to be a resource for the community of individuals that work to increase housing stability for residents of Hennepin County. Share feedback here.
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