In this edition:
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HUD awards $2 million to address homelessness among Indigenous Minnesota youth
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2024 Legislative Summary
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Join the webinar and Speakers Bureau on July 10
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Attend the virtual Olmstead Day celebration on June 25
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Take the Minnesota Disability Inclusion and Choice Survey before June 30
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Minnesota Housing’s 2024 Capacity Building Program RFPs due July 15
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MICH is on socials
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Crossroads to Justice: Measuring Our Progress
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First-of-their-kind funds are coming to northern Minnesota to help reduce homelessness among Indigenous youth!
On June 6, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced $2 million in grants to coordinate services, data, and accessibility to more rapidly and effectively transition Indigenous youth across northern Minnesota from homelessness into stability. The grant was awarded to a partnership of Northwest Minnesota Foundation, Minnesota Tribal Collaborative to Prevent and End Homelessness, Northwest Minnesota Continuum of Care and Northeast Minnesota Continuum of Care, and is part of $51.1 million in Youth Homelessness System Improvement (YHSI) Grants to 38 communities across 26 states, Puerto Rico, and Guam.
HUD officials announced the funding at a special event in Bemidji, recognizing the leadership and potential of Minnesota communities in confronting homelessness among Minnesota’s Indigenous youth.
Grants focus on systemic change to either improve or create response systems for youth at risk of or experiencing homelessness. These grants fund projects that:
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Create and build capacity for Youth Action Boards.
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Establish regional committees to direct efforts across multiple systems, including education, justice, and child welfare.
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Collect and use data on at-risk youth and youth experiencing homelessness.
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Develop strong leaders within a community.
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Improve the coordination, communication, operation, and administration of homeless assistance projects to better serve youth, including prevention and diversion strategies.
Congratulations to all involved for this well-deserved recognition and welcome funding!
At the end of May 2024, the Governor signed an interagency budget for housing stability including $24 million dollars in onetime funding in fiscal year (FY) 25 and $13.3 million in FY 26-27. These investments build on the historic $2.6 billion in investments from the 2023 legislative session focused on the continuum of housing needs from preventing and ending homelessness, to creating a healthy rental market for low-income renters, to closing the disparities in homeownership.
At the State Capitol, the second year of the biennium typically focuses on policy initiatives, a capital investment bill and supplemental budget initiatives. The session landscape this year included a $3.7 billion budget surplus for the FY 24-25 budget. You can review all the specific investments and funding amounts in the One Minnesota 2024 Housing Stability Summary.
Join the next monthly webinar on Wednesday, July 10 from 1 - 2 p.m. This is a change from our regular schedule of holding webinars on the first Wednesday of the month. There will be no webinar on Wednesday, July 3. If you have any questions about your webinar registration, please email dan.gregory@state.mn.us
Topics for July 10 include:
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An overview of how the Olmstead Implementation Office supports the rights of people with disabilities, and the intersection of the Office’s work and homelessness
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, July 10 at 1 p.m. There is a monthly prep session held the Tuesday before the webinar. The prep session will be Tuesday, July 9 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.
This year is the 25th anniversary of the 1999 Supreme Court Decision Olmstead v. L.C. 25 years ago, when plaintiffs Elaine Wilson and Lois Curtis advocated for – and won – their rights, they also reaffirmed the rights of disabled Americans everywhere, including people for generations to come.
Nikki Villavicencio of Advocating Change Together (ACT) will be facilitating the event. There will be a welcome from Commissioner Jennifer Ho of Minnesota Housing, and the Olmstead Implementation Office Director, Aisha Elmquist. Colleen Wieck of the Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities will share about the long history of disability advocacy that brought us to today. David Dively of the Minnesota Council on Disability will share about how disability advocacy continues to shape life today, and self-advocate Brittanie Hernandez-Wilson will discuss the future of disability advocacy. All three speakers will share insights on the past, present, and future of disability advocacy in a panel discussion.
Do you want to share your input on how to improve inclusion, choice, and integration for disabled Minnesotans? Minnesota’s Olmstead Plan is being rewritten. This is a statewide Plan to create more choices, options, and support for people with disabilities to live in the community. Help the Olmstead Implementation Office choose which areas the next Plan should focus on by taking their survey. The survey is open from June 3 through 30. Click here to learn more.
The Capacity Building Program funds activities that build the capacity of organizations and communities to address root causes of housing challenges and create thriving and inclusive communities. Communities most impacted by housing challenges and disparities are experts and key partners in developing solutions to these challenges. Minnesota Housing trusts organizations and communities to use their knowledge and creativity to develop strategies that work for them.
Minnesota Housing has up to $4,875,000 is available through the 2024 Capacity Building RFP. The maximum award is up to $200,000 per grantee for a two- or three-year grant period. Eligible applicants include Tax-exempt nonprofit organizations, Tribal governments and Tribal Business Entities. Collaboration is welcome if the lead applicant is an eligible applicant. The lead applicant is the primary grantee. Additional partners are considered subgrantees or contractors.
Keep up with the latest from the Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness through our new social media accounts! See how we’re engaging community, get updates on the Crossroads to Justice strategic plan implementation, and discover opportunities and stories from across the state.
We’d love if you (and your organization, if applicable!) would give us a follow and help spread the word:
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.
Throughout the implementation of the plan, the Council will monitor two primary metrics:
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The number of Minnesotans experiencing homelessness, according to the annual one-time Point-in-Time Count (Goal: 15 percent reduction by December 2026); and
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A reduction in the inequities of who experiences homelessness, according to the annual one-time Point-in-Time Count and American Community Survey.
  Learn more about these overarching metrics and the unique measures we’ll use to track progress on the five Results in the plan by clicking here.
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