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We excited to announce that Eric Grumdahl has accepted the position of Assistant Commissioner of the Behavioral Health; Housing; Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Administration at the Minnesota Department of Human Services! He will begin this new role on August 8th. Eric has been an incredible and tenacious public servant in his role as Deputy Director of the Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness. We look forward to continued collaboration with him in his new role!
We are in the process of hiring a new Deputy Director to support the Council’s work. For more information and to apply go to https://mn.gov/mmb/careers/ and search for job 57341. The position closes on August 2, 2022. Help spread the job posting with your networks!
The Frontline Worker Pay application closes on Friday, July 22 at 5:00 p.m. Visit https://frontlinepay.mn.gov/ to apply. After the Frontline Worker Pay application closes, submitted applications will be processed and verified by the Department of Labor and Industry, Department of Employment and Economic Development, and Department of Revenue. Following processing and verification, all applicants will be notified via email either that no further action is required or that their application has been denied and they are eligible to submit an appeal in the following 15-day appeals period, which is anticipated to be Tuesday, Aug. 16, through Wednesday, Aug. 31, at 5 p.m. (CT). After the 15-day appeals period, appeals will be processed and the final number of eligible applicants will be determined. The money dedicated to Frontline Worker Pay will then be divided equally among the final eligible applicants and those receiving payment will be notified.
*Please note the prior version of the newsletter indicated the incorrect day the application closes. It is FRIDAY, July 22 not Thursday.
We are excited to share that Secretary of State Steve Simon will join our weekly webinar next Wednesday, July 27 from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Secretary Simon and his team will share information on exercising your right to vote and they specifically want to hear about the challenges people experiencing homelessness face in exercising their right to vote. This webinar will be interactive, and we hope to hear from as many people as possible. Help us spread the word about this opportunity to share your voting experiences and ideas with Secretary Simon!
We hope you can join us for the webinar tomorrow from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. to hear updates from the MDH team on COVID case reporting, updates on vaccines from the MDH vaccines team, and updates from the Trusted Messenger program. If you have any questions about your registration, please email Elizabeth Dressel.
In June, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a special Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) with new resources for local communities to respond to unsheltered homelessness and homeless encampments. The Initiative for Unsheltered and Rural Homelessness will help communities humanely and effectively implement coordinated approaches for solving unsheltered homelessness with housing, health care, and supportive services. The $365 million package includes:
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$322 million in Continuum of Care (CoC) Program grants, with $54.5 million set aside specifically for rural communities, through a Special Notice of Funding Opportunity to fund homeless outreach, permanent housing, supportive services, and other costs. The grants will fund projects for three years then will be eligible for renewal through the annual CoC Program.
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$43 million for approximately 4,000 new Housing Choice Vouchers that will be allocated through a separate notice to public housing authorities. The vouchers can serve people who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness, fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, and Veterans and their families if they meet one of the proceeding criteria.
We encourage you to get connected with your local CoC to learn more about how to support the application for these resources. You can find your local CoC information here. Since the announcement additional information has been released by HUD and several partners have held informational webinars. Here are some resources to learn more about this special funding opportunity:
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HUD Special NOFO website has detailed information on the funding including materials from the kickoff webinars and technical assistance materials. In the coming weeks, Navigational Guides and Detailed Instructions will be released to CoCs and project applicants access the applications and answer the questions on each form.
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National Alliance to End Homelessness held a webinar on Understand the Special NOFO to Address Unsheltered and Rural Homelessness that provided a general overview and things for communities to consider. Visit their site to find the webinar recording and fact sheets on the overview the funding, scoring priorities, partnerships, and race equity.
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Watch the National Coalition for the Homeless information session and Q&A on the Special NOFO with Richard Cho, Senior Advisor, HUD.
This afternoon, Senator Tina Smith chaired a hearing of the Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development focused on “Opportunities and Challenges in Addressing Homelessness.” Cathy ten Broeke, Assistant Commissioner and Executive Director of the Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness, was one of five witnesses that provided testimony highlighting the work happening in Minnesota. You can watch full hearing and read the witnesses written testimony on the Subcommittee hearing page.
The Minnesota Department of Health has published a Request for Proposals (RFP) to identify Minnesota organizations to deliver HIV Prevention Projects. These programs include Early Intervention Services (EIS) Programs for People at Greatest Risk, HIV Prevention and Harm Reduction Programs (Syringe Service Programs- SSPs), and Prevention Programs for HIV Negative People at Greatest Risk (Pre Exposure Prophylaxis Programs-PrEP). MDH is hosting an RFP webinar Wednesday, July 20 at 1:30 p.m. To access the webinar, click here at the start of the webinar. HIV Prevention Projects RFP Pre-Proposal Webinar. Visit the STD and HIV Request for Proposal page to learn more and view all the RFP materials. Proposals must be submitted by Wednesday, August 17 at 4:30 p.m.
Cases among people experiencing homelessness and the staff who support continues to remain steady. The MDH team continues to monitor cases and our team continues to plan alongside local public health and emergency management on ways to be best prepared to support people experiencing homelessness through any future surges. If you are looking for any information or resources you can find information at https://mich.mn.gov/covid-19 or email Health.R-Congregate@state.mn.us.
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Help us spread the word about a new newsletter for engagement opportunities for people who have experienced or are currently facing homelessness. The Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness is building a new newsletter list to share opportunities for people who have faced or are currently facing homelessness to share their input, ideas, and expertise. Interested individuals can sign up for the newsletter by filling out this form. We will share a range of opportunities in this newsletter from state agencies and partner organizations and the newsletter will be sent out as opportunities are available. Please email elizabeth.dressel@state.mn.us if you have any questions.
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Minnesota Housing’s Housing Stability Team is seeking feedback from organizations that have previously applied or are eligible to apply for their grant programs to learn more about your experience and ways they can improve. Complete a brief survey to provide your input. It is a short survey that should take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete, and all survey responses will remain anonymous. Survey responses are due by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 26. In addition to the survey, Minnesota Housing will be hosting several focus groups and conducting a limited number of one-on-one interviews. You can indicate your interest in participating in a focus group or an interview by answering the related question in the survey. If you have any questions about the survey, please contact joel.salzer@state.mn.us.
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