Thank you for the incredible feedback and ideas you provided during our discussion last week on affordable and supportive housing. If you missed the discussion or want to go back, you can review the Menti responses or recording.
We are excited to continue the conversation to solicit your guidance and advice about the investments included in the Governor’s budget proposal being considered at the Legislature. Your feedback will provide critical insight that helps shape the processes for these funds to be requested, for allocations to be determined, and for expectations to be set related to the use of these resources. Tomorrow’s conversation will focus on ending Veteran homelessness. Ahead of the discussion tomorrow, please consider the following questions:
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How do we best support Veterans of Color in accessing programs?
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What are the main barriers for Veterans experiencing homelessness?
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What outreach models are successful in reaching Veterans who are not already connected to crisis or emergency services?
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How can we make resources for Veterans more effective at meeting the needs of underserved Vets?
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What Veteran-specific homelessness programs do you feel have worked the best and why?
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How can progress on Veteran homelessness inform and support other efforts on homelessness in your community?
Join the discussion tomorrow from 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. to share your ideas and insights! If you have any questions about your registration, please email Elizabeth Dressel
Today, Governor Walz signed into law a comprehensive veterans bill that among many things will move the state toward ending and preventing veteran homelessness. Chapter 54, SF 4233 includes $5.4 million in a grant to Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans to provide assistance to veterans and former services members and their families who are homelessness or at risk of homelessness. It also includes $1.7 million annually to fund temporary housing options for veterans and former service members who are experiencing homelessness and to increase outreach activities to end homelessness.
Minnesota’s Frontline Worker Pay team shared that they are working hard to get the application process up and running. The Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) has signed a contract with a vendor that will build the Frontline Worker Pay application. They hope to have the application ready by mid-June, for the 45-day application period to begin, with payments anticipated in late summer or early fall.
Visit https://frontlinepay.mn.gov/ to view available information on the program including an information sheet. If you want to stay up to date on program announcements, we encourage you to visit the site and sign up to receive the Frontline Worker Pay update emails. The website is available in multiple languages using the Google Translate drop down at the top of the website.
Rainbow Research and their team of hired consultants with lived experience of homelessness, have been leading a series of Justice Work Groups which are working to create a unified, operational definition of housing, racial, and health justice for people experiencing homelessness. This definition will drive the development of strategies and specific actions that will shape the statewide plan. To get a broad range of perspectives and input from the community, Rainbow is holding a series of Community Conversations for anyone to join to hear updates on the Justice Work Groups and provide their ideas and opinions on the development of the operation definition of housing, racial, and health justice for people experiencing homelessness. The Community Conversations are targeted to people who are not able to join the work groups.
Join the first Community Conversation this Friday, May 13 from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.! Help us spread the word about this opportunity to impact the frame for the statewide strategic plan by sharing this flyer. We want to hear from all community voices and need your help in spreading the word to the people you work with. The information on how to join the zoom meetings can be found on the new MICH website - https://mich.mn.gov/justice-strategic-plan. No registration is required to attend.
This Friday, May 20, 2022 is the deadline for organizations to request a vaccine clinic through the Minnesota Department of Health’s Community Vaccination event request form: Community Vaccination Event Request Form. Events can be scheduled up to June 30, 2022. MDH vaccinators can provide both adult and pediatric vaccinations, first shots, second shots, and boosters and offer a variety of vaccine types.
The Centers for Disease Control has expanded its eligibility for a second booster shot to include the following groups:
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People ages 50 years and older
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People ages 12 years and older who are moderately or severely immunocompromised
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People ages 18 years and older who received Janssen (J&J) COVID-19 Vaccine as both a primary and a booster dose
Among people who are eligible for a second booster dose, the following people may consider getting the second booster dose as soon as possible (i.e., four months after their first booster dose):
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People with underlying medical conditions that increase the risk of severe COVID-19 disease
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People living with someone who is immunocompromised, at increased risk for severe disease, or who cannot be vaccinated due to age or contraindication
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People at increased risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2, such as through occupational, institutional, or other activities (e.g., travel or large gatherings)
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People who live or work in or near an area where the COVID-19 community level is medium or high or are traveling to such an area
The Office of Justice Programs invites you to attend the 34th Annual Conference on Crime and Victimization. The free conference will be held online over two weeks on May 17-20 and May 24-27. This conference is for victim advocates, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and other criminal justice professionals, and anyone whose work puts them in contact with victim survivors.
You will click on the session titles you are interested in attending to register. If you have any questions on the conference you can visit the conference page or email joann.jones@state.mn.us.
The number of COVID-19 cases among people experiencing have remained stable in the last week. The MDH team continues monitor the increasing cases counts in the general population.
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