In this edition:
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Hear highlights about Crossroads to Justice from the MICH Implementation Consultants on the March 5 webinar
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Critical funding from HUD has not arrived. Here’s how you can take action for our communities
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Why Criminalization Doesn’t Work: Research and Policy Insights from the National Alliance to End Homelessness
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A message to our community partners
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Sharing our affirmations and commitments on socials
- Crossroads to Justice: Implementation Consultant MissCandi Martin on collaborating with the Department of Revenue
Be sure to join the next monthly webinar on Wednesday, March 5 from 1 - 2 p.m. If you have any questions about your webinar registration, please email dan.gregory@state.mn.us
On the March 5 webinar, the MICH Implementation Consultants will share highlights from their work with State agencies on the Crossroads to Justice strategic plan.
Because each of the Implementation Consultants are people with lived experience of homelessness, there will be no Speakers Bureau on the March 5 webinar. The next webinar Speakers Bureau will be on Wednesday, April 2 at 1 p.m. There is a monthly prep session held the Tuesday before the webinar. The prep session will be Tuesday, April 1 from 11-11:30 a.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.
Communities in every corner of Minnesota rely on critical funding from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for housing assistance and supportive services. More than 4 weeks ago, HUD announced nearly $3.6 billion in investments to Continuum of Cares (COCs) across the country – but the funds haven’t arrived yet. Further delay risks lives and the financial stability of thousands of our neighbors.
The National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) is calling people to take action today by writing to your members of Congress, asking that they urge HUD to quickly disburse these needed funds. Click here to take action.
There is no evidence from Minnesota or across the country that tickets or arrests do anything to help reduce homelessness. Instead, they make things more difficult for our neighbors and relatives with no place to call home.
The National Alliance to End Homelessness recently released a series of briefs on the topic of criminalizing homelessness. These briefs summarize conclusions from more than 100 studies conducted across the country. Once again, the evidence is clear: criminalization does not work.
As more jurisdictions consider misguided ordinances that hurt – rather than help – neighbors and communities by using tickets and arrests as a punishment for homelessness, consider how you can use these briefs to advocate for an evidence-based approach instead.
On February 12, MICH shared an email titled “A message to our community partners.” We hope you have already read it from your inbox. You can see and share the full email by clicking here.
One part of the email we wanted to re-highlight for you reads, “We encourage you to be in conversation with your peers to identify changes specific to your corner of the work [as a result of federal actions]. Please share any pertinent updates with our staff so we can determine if additional steps or communications by the State are needed. If you have questions around specific programs, please connect with the appropriate administering agency at the State.”
You can email how federal actions related to housing and homelessness are impacting individuals and nonprofits to dan.gregory@state.mn.us
In Crossroads to Justice, there is a section titled “The Commitment to the Work Ahead.” Throughout February, we’re talking about these affirmations and commitments on our social media. Have you followed us yet to see these? If not, now is the perfect moment: find MICH on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
These commitments and affirmations guide the approach to our work. If they resonate with you, too, please consider sharing the posts with your network!
Crossroads to Justice is the strategic plan of the Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness (MICH), 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, chose agencies to support in May, and their expertise and priorities are shaping the daily work of state agencies.
MissCandi is a member of the North Minneapolis community. She is a mother, partner, advisor, research lead, and consultant for a Christian based non-profit based in South Dakota. She is a volunteer technology tutor for her community seniors. Her background is embedded with social service, inpatient healthcare, serving adolescent individuals, caregiving, library science, and behavioral health. She is passionate about providing resources, dignity, respect, and alternative solutions for individuals facing destabilizing events. MissCandi is not just a member of our community, but a beacon of hope. She is lending her expertise, skills, and lived experiences to MICH as we collectively strive to end homelessness in Minnesota.
MissCandi’s reflections on working with the Department of Revenue
“The Department of Revenue (DOR) is working tirelessly to provide grants, programs, and taxpayer assistance services to Minnesotans, making a big difference for families. Their Local Affordable Housing Aid (LAHA), Statewide Affordable Housing Aid (SAHA), and Greater Minnesota housing infrastructure programs have been instrumental in helping our counties and Tribes prevent homelessness. This agency has also assigned a very dedicated lead to discuss the framework of these programs in-depth and make all the pieces fit together. His involvement has given myself and fellow Implementation Consultants an opportunity to relay all of the good work to the communities we serve. I would encourage all of our citizens to subscribe to the DOR newsletter (go to https://www.revenue.state.mn.us/ and find “Get Email Updates” at the very bottom right of the page) because they are doing amazing work and have so many programs that I could not cover in one article. It has truly been a pleasure to serve as consultant for this agency.”
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