In this edition:
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Join USICH staff on the next MICH webinar and Speakers Bureau on Wednesday, December 4
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Public comments on 2024 CAPER and PER due December 2
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Reminder: Apply for Bridges Program Funding
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Social media highlight: MICH in Duluth
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Crossroads to Justice: Implementation Consultant Sheri Snetsinger on collaborating with the Department of Veterans Affairs
Be sure to join the next monthly webinar on Wednesday, December 4 from 1 - 2 p.m. If you have any questions about your webinar registration, please email dan.gregory@state.mn.us
Staff from the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) will share insights from recent visits to Minnesota as our guest presenters on the December 4 webinar.
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, December 4 at 1 p.m. There is a monthly prep session held the Tuesday before the webinar. The prep session will be Tuesday, December 3 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.
The State of Minnesota is developing its Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) and Performance Evaluation Report (PER) for 2024.
The CAPER measures the state’s progress in meeting assistance goals and priorities identified in the Consolidated Plan over the past year. It includes a summary and analysis of progress made on overcoming impediments to fair housing.
Please note that this report only evaluates how the state utilized its federal funding for the following five HUD Community Planning and Development grants over the 2024 federal fiscal year:
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HOME
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National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF)
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Housing for Persons with Aids (HOPWA)
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Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG)
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Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
This is not a forward-looking document, and it does not evaluate expenditures or progress on state-funded programs.
How do I submit comments?
Public comments on the CAPER and PER must be submitted by Monday, December 2, at 5 p.m. (Central time).
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Email: nellie.siers@state.mn.us with “CAPER” in the subject line
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Mail:
CAPER Minnesota Housing 400 Wabasha St. N., Suite 400 St. Paul, MN 55102
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Fax: 651.296.8139 with “CAPER” in the subject line
What happens to my comments?
The state considers any comments received in writing. A summary of the comments received and responses will be included in the final CAPER.
Minnesota Housing is pleased to announce the availability of up to approximately $15 million in funding to provide temporary rental assistance, security deposits, and access to housing supports and supportive services to people with a mental illness in under-resourced communities through the Bridges Rental Assistance (Bridges) Program and Bridges Regional Treatment Center (Bridges RTC) Program. The $15 million will be distributed as grants through a competitive request for proposals (RFP) process.
The Bridges Program and Bridges RTC Program operate as a partnership between local housing agencies and local mental health entities, behavioral health service agencies, and partners.
Eligible applicants include housing agencies, housing authorities, nonprofit organizations, and Tribal Nations. Applicants must also be in partnership with a local mental health entity.
More information, including the application materials, can be found on Minnesota Housing’s Bridges Program webpage.
Cross-jurisdictional coordination is essential for addressing homelessness. That was one of the key messages MICH got to share earlier this month at CHUM’s annual assembly in Duluth.
Sheri (left) at the declaration of Hennepin County achieving functional zero
for veteran homelessness.
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 implementation of this plan is being co-led and co-monitored by 14 paid Implementation Consultants, all people with lived experience of homelessness representing different experiences and different parts of the state. They were onboarded in April and assigned agencies to support in May, and their expertise and priorities help shape the work of agency Action Leads.
Sheri is an enrolled member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe – White Earth Reservation, where she was born and raised. She is a proud single mother of three, an aunt to many, a tribal human service employee, a volunteer for the Naytahwaush Community Council and a newly elected 2024 Twin Lakes Township board member. She enjoys lifting up her community members throughout the reservation and our great state through volunteer opportunities, urging social media awareness, and collaborations at the local, county and state level.
As an Anishinaabe, Sheri is guided by the teachings of gwayakwaadiziwin (honesty), which emphasizes doing the right thing for all and maintaining high standards of integrity. She also upholds nibwaakaawin (wisdom), which involves making decisions based on knowledge and lived experiences.
Sheri’s reflections on working with the Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA)
“I’m the granddaughter of a WW2 gunner who was awarded the Purple Heart, the daughter of an Army veteran and the niece of veterans who served in the Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force. Not all my veterans made it home from war, but their years of dedication made an impact on our family. My proud grandfather Allie spent much of his later years living in his van, which is why I jumped at the opportunity to work with our MDVA Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Workgroup to combat disparities while expanding equitable access to safe, dignified, and sustainable housing.
“The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs has pulled out all the stops, including developing the Veteran Homeless Registry Dashboard which connects Veterans to housing and services, with a goal of becoming the fourth state in the nation to reach “functional zero” by 2025, meaning veteran homelessness is rare, brief and nonrecurring. Collaborating with MICH, all other state departments, local agencies, frontline workers, federal programing such as the U.S. Social Security Administration, all 10 Continuums of Care in Minnesota, landlords, Veterans and their families, has increased Veteran’s access to vital services and secured crucial funding, while further implementing extensive programming and incentivizing property managers to house our brave men and woman who answered the call to maintain our safety. Together, we will overcome or prevent homelessness for our Veterans.”
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