On April 22, the Supreme Court of the United States will hear arguments in City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, which could have major implications for homelessness policy in Minnesota and across the nation. At question is whether a city’s enforcement of public camping against people who are involuntarily experiencing homelessness violates the Eighth Amendment’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison submitted an amicus brief (find it here) asking the Court to uphold a narrow ruling that “a city cannot punish a person for sleeping on public property when the person has nowhere else to sleep in the city,” and that doing so “does not prevent state and local governments from placing reasonable limits on the size and location of encampments, or from punishing harmful conduct that may be associated with encampments....[or] prevent state and local governments from addressing homelessness with other effective policy tools.” You can find additional amicus briefs here.
Leading national homelessness advocacy groups are calling for a “Week of Action to Oppose the Criminalization of Homelessness and Advance Long-Term Solutions” surrounding the April 22 hearing. If you want to learn more, their toolkit can be found here.
The Paths to Parenthood curriculum is comprised of nine, 90-minute sessions. The goals of the curriculum are to increase knowledge about the financial, legal, and emotional responsibilities of parenthood, and provide information to help participants along their journey to identify where parenthood fits within their life plan.
Eligible grantees include community-based organizations, government entities, Tribal Nations, and schools who have the expertise and current capacity to provide a curriculum pilot project to a pool of their organization’s enrolled participants who are ages sixteen to twenty-five (16-25) and have faced adverse circumstances or have experience with the justice system (Justice Involved Youth and Young Adults or JIYYA).
Two informational sessions on the grant application will be held. You do not need to register and can join using the links below at the date and time indicated
Thursday, April 25, 2024 at 9 - 10 a.m. Central Time
Monday, April 29, 2024 at 10 - 11 a.m. Central Time
Minnesota Housing is hiring a Property Owner Risk Mitigation Fund Officer as part of their Housing Stability Team.
Consulting with and learning from local administrators, property owners, case workers, renters and existing research/literature, this new position will refine the Property Owner Risk Mitigation Fund program. This person will issue a request for proposals (RFP) to allocate up to $1M for administrators to use to implement a risk mitigation model in their local communities. They will remain connected to and actively support the selected administrators to get their local programs up and running. This position will also spend significant time working with colleagues and grantees of the Family Homeless Prevention and Assistance Program (FHPAP) and the Homework Starts with Home (HSWH) program.
Find more information, and encourage interested persons to apply, by clicking here.
There are a broad range of opportunities for full time employment with the state, including several positions related to housing, homelessness, and addressing aspects of the Crossroads to Justice plan. At the end of 2023, Governor Walz issued an executive order eliminating college degree requirements for over 75% of state government jobs. Visit the state careers page to view and share open positions.
zAmya and CAR are hosting a Theater of the Oppressed Workshop with renowned theatrical director Adrian Jackson, founder of Cardboard Citizens in London.
The training is designed for anyone interested in the connection between healthcare and homelessness, such as caregivers, mutual aid workers, harm reduction specialists, street cooks, activists, healthcare providers, and neighbors - both unhoused and housed.
To support people who are bringing the lived experience of homelessness, they have a limited supply of:
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$10 Target gift cards each day (at end of day)
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$50 Visa gift cards for attending all three days (at end of final day)
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Bus tokens
If you need assistance signing up, contact Esther at: 612.760.4808
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Friday, May 3, 6 - 9 p.m.
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Saturday, May 4, 10:30 a.m. - 6 p.m.
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Sunday, May 5, 3 - 8 p.m.
Join the next monthly webinar on Wednesday, May 1 from 1 - 2 p.m. to hear about the new Domestic Violence Housing First Program and Domestic and Sexual Violence Transitional Housing funding. If you have any questions about your webinar registration, please email dan.gregory@state.mn.us
The beginning 10 minutes of each monthly webinar will be held to hear from the Speakers Bureau. Anyone who has lived experience of homelessness is welcome to sign-up to share through the Speakers Bureau. This is open time each month for lived experience experts to share ideas and feedback with the webinar audience.
The next webinar Speakers Bureau will be on Wednesday, May 1 at 1 p.m. There is a monthly prep session held the Tuesday before the webinar. The prep session will be Tuesday, April 30 from 3 - 3:30 p.m. Follow this link to join the prep session. This is an ongoing opportunity that happens each month. Sign up is required. Please email dan.gregory@state.mn.us or call/text Dan at 651.983.9985 to sign up to speak or with any questions.
We are overwhelmed by the incredible amount of interest in the Implementation Justice Consultant positions that will help move the Crossroads to Justice strategic plan into its next phase. More than 440 people applied to Rainbow Research for the 14 positions, and we’re grateful for the time and energy each person put into their application! Thank you also to everyone who promoted this opportunity with your networks. Rainbow Research is conducting final interviews, and we hope to introduce the consultants within the next few months.
Crossroads to Justice is the strategic plan of the Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness, bringing a housing, racial and health justice approach for people facing homelessness in Minnesota to guide the work of state government. Crossroads to Justice was co-developed and will be co-implemented by paid consultants who have faced homelessness, is championed by Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, and is advanced by staff and leaders across 14 agencies.
Crossroads to Justice represents an innovative pathway forward. Progress will be measured not only by reducing the number of people who are experiencing homelessness in the state, but also by reducing the disproportionate number of Native American, Black and Brown Minnesotans who experience homelessness.
We identified five bold results to drive significant movement toward housing, racial, and health justice, and 16 supportive strategies that represent the highest-impact opportunities to make positive change. We will use this newsletter to highlight these strategies and the work being done to advance them. Stay tuned for more!
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