Hennepin County, Minnesota sent this bulletin at 08/05/2024 06:51 PM CDT
August 2024
Greetings! We hope our newsletter serves as a resource for staying connected to Hennepin County activities and staying updated on county news and services.
As always, please reach out with questions, comments, or to learn more about how to get involved.
Open Letter to Residents About Commissioner Pay:
July Kick Off:
I kicked off the month of July with a visit to Peace House, a south-side community center. The little green house of Peace House serves residents with acute challenges of poverty, hunger, addiction, and depression since COVID-19. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn about the influx of visitors they are trying to care for. Providers like this, that maintain safe spaces of reprieve and shelter for our unhoused need more support to keep their doors open and accessible. Read more about Peace House here.
Action from the Capitol:
I was proud to join my colleagues at the Capitol to participate in Governor Walz's signing of The Minnesota African American Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionately Act. The Act takes effect in Ramsey and Hennepin County in January 2025 and expands statewide two years after. I'm grateful for all the hard work of bill authors Senator Bobby Joe Champion and Representative Esther Agbaje, as well as the leading advocate of this bill, Kelis Houston, head of the nonprofit family-serving Village Arms organization.
National Association of Counties Annual Conference:
Between July 12th and 15th, our team attended the National Association of Counties (NACo) Annual Conference which was held in Hillsborough County, Florida this year. At the conference, I took part in many different activities including presenting three resolutions- all of which passed, partnering with Commissioner Fernando on a resolution regarding benefits eligibility for income support programs, joining forces with Commissioner Anderson on a resolution to support women’s cardiovascular health.
I am thrilled to have authored a resolution on ending financial penalties for families experiencing homelessness and supporting family emergency shelter in the NACo Community, Economic, and Workforce Development Committee.
This resolution had unanimous approval, and I am pleased to know that all counties, urban and rural, share our belief that no child should have to sleep outside!
Here are some additional highlights from our time in Hillsborough:
Day 1: As a co-chair of the Community, Economic and Workforce Development Policy Steering Committee, I supported fellow co-chairs in facilitating a meeting where we had federal partners, national experts and leaders that discussed policy priorities in working with places of worship to utilize any excess space for housing and allowing for newly arrived immigrants that are seeking the opportunity to continue the work they began in their countries of origin such as careers in medicine and engineering without having to overcome so many barriers. We also heard from leaders that work at NASA about their efforts to create pipelines for youth in high school and college to join NASA early on in their careers.
Day 2: As a Vice Chair of the Large Urban County Caucus, I joined my colleagues on the main stage to facilitate and provide space for learning in six key areas: Addressing the impacts of mental health and substance use, transportation/infrastructure and accessing resources from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, maternal and infant mortality, housing accessibility and homelessness, elections and voting rights, and health care access and equity.
On Day 2, I also met with the National Association of Black County Officials where I now serve as First Vice-president.
Day 3: On Sunday, the Hennepin team was proud to attend workshops that included three members of our county team!
County Administrator David Hough spoke at the “Job Ready! How Counties Support Career Pathways” workshop, which highlighted our Pathways program and how we implemented it across the county.
Kevin Dockry, Director of Housing and Economic development, was a panelist for the “Home for All: Equity Considerations” workshop.
And lastly, Kareem Murphy with our Intergovernmental Relations department was a panelist in the Health Policy Steering Committee where they discussed health policy issues relevant to counties, such as addressing hunger as a social determinant of health, strategies for addressing youth mental health and enhancing cybersecurity in healthcare settings.
Many of our County colleagues from around the country who attended the workshops were impressed by our work in Hennepin and expressed interest in implementing similar programs.
Day 4: On the last day of the conference, we had our NACo Annual Business Meeting. In this meeting, we finalized our policy resolutions for our federal platform and elected a new slate of leaders for the 2024-2025 term. Mary Jo McGuire from Ramsey County ended her productive year as president of NACo.
Following this conference, our team is working through how to implement and expand on all that we learned. Since early on in my first term as Commissioner, learning as much as I can from NACo and serving in various leadership roles has been truly meaningful for my experience in this role.
For the 2024-2025 term in NACo, I was elected by colleagues to serve in the following positions:
Chair, Community, Economic and Workforce Development Policy Steering Committee.
First Vice President, National Association of Black County Officials.
Conley's NACo Community, Economic, and Workforce Development (CEWD) Appointment:
It's truly an honor to be appointed as the CEWD Chair in this new cycle. I am so excited to lead the Committee in this new year and look forward to all we'll do. Learn more about NACo's Community, Economic, and Workforce Development Steering Committee, here.
Pathways to School Re-Engagement Program:
I closed out the month by meeting with young graduates from our Pathways to School Re-Engagement Program. The Re-Engagement Program is for young parents and youth on probation ages 17 to 24, who are not currently in school.
This pathway program not only supports students with high school graduation or GED but works with them on career exploration, post-secondary options and college supports
Hennepin Heart Health Initiative:
Last year I authored a Heart Health Initiative that allocated $1 million into improving the outcomes of Black and Indigenous women's heart health. This BAR passed the Board unanimously.
About one-third of the funding will be used to help our communities better access preventative care. Another third is aimed at boosting awareness about the symptoms to look for and identify that are connected to vascular diseases and diabetes. The remaining funding will support public health workers to follow up with patients who recently experienced a cardiovascular event to ensure they are doing what is needed to avoid another crisis and heal.
I am proud of this work and the ability to address heart health disparities in Hennepin County. And in this work, we are currently seeking community members for input on our developing Heart Health Campaign. That includes hearing directly from you to better understand how heart health has impacted you, offer a space for support, and ensure resources from last year’s BAR are utilized in the most effective and responsive way. If interested, please reach out to the contact listed on the flyer above!
Where: Elliot Park Rec Center, 1000 E. 14th Street, Minneapolis MN 55404
Taking Down The HERC, Lifting Up Our Visions: Sip, Paint, and Learn!
Where: 3701 3rd Avenue South Minneapolis, MN, 55409United States
Join us at Sabathani Senior Center to learn about the HERC trash burner, which pollutes our community with 350,000 tons of trash burned into our air each year.
Childcare and accessibility accommodations available upon request
Presented by the Minnesota Environmental Justice Table
Hosted by the South Minneapolis Anti-Racism Collective (SMAC); a multi-neighborhood initiative of BNA, BNO, CANDO & PPNA
Black and Brown Birthing Summit:
This FREE groundbreaking two-day conference aims to celebrate, empower, and elevate the voices and experiences of Black and Brown birthing individuals.
From thought-provoking panel discussions to interactive workshops, we have curated an exceptional lineup of national and local experts that will dive into crucial topics relating to women, babies, and families in present crisis. Our 2024 theme is “What is our Legacy: Maternal Health and Community Action”
Date: Thursday September 19th & Friday September 20th – 9:30am – 4:00pm
Where: Wilder Foundation, 451 Lexington Pkwy N, St Paul, MN 55104
