In this edition:
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No webinar on September 4, but join us on October 2
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Social media highlight: Grand opening of new shelter in Hibbing
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New Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) website is live
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Crossroads to Justice: Increasing and Simplifying Access to Housing
There will not be a webinar tomorrow, September 4. But be sure to join the next monthly webinar on Wednesday, October 2 from 1 - 2 p.m. If you have any questions about your webinar registration, please email dan.gregory@state.mn.us
Topics for the October 2 webinar include:
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Voting rights and processes for people facing homelessness
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Overview of Heading Home Corps program and opportunity
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HMIS update
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, October 2 at 1 p.m. There is a monthly prep session held the Tuesday before the webinar. The prep session will be Tuesday, October 1 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.
Are you following MICH on social media yet? If not, you may have missed the exciting news about the grand opening of the new Home on the Range shelter in Hibbing!
Check out the post on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn – and while you’re there, be sure to give us a follow so you never miss an update!
The new Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) puts children at the center of state government, creating a permanent state agency and commissioner focused on elevating children and families in policy and budget decisions.
This realigns state government to advance equitable outcomes for children, youth, and families through transformative, partnership-driven policies, programs and practices.
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.
The plan identifies five bold results that will drive significant movement towards housing, racial and health justice. The fourth result focuses on increasing and simplifying access to housing:
People facing homelessness have access to housing options that meet their needs and honors their choices.
Strategy 1: Fund and develop a variety of housing options with fewer restrictions and barriers.
Strategy 2: Increase access to rental assistance and vouchers.
Strategy 3: Improve navigation to get people into housing.
Strategy 4: Increase access to supportive services to sustain housing.
One aspect aligned with Strategy 2 is the “Bring It Home” statewide rental assistance program. This new program will create 4,000-5,000 tenant- and project-based rental assistance vouchers for cost-burdened households earning 50% area median income (AMI) or less, prioritizing households earning under 30% AMI that include children. “Bring It Home” is funded via ongoing appropriation and in the metro area via a .25% metro-wide sales tax.
The Bring It Home Rental Assistance Program provides a grant to Program Administrators (basically Housing and Redevelopment Authorities and Tribal Nations) on a formula based on eligible households. Program Administrators will have flexibility to create a rental assistance program based on the needs in their community with parameters determined by Minnesota Housing. Staff at Minnesota Housing are developing the program guide which will be finalized this winter.
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