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From Ward 5 Minneapolis City Council Member, Jeremiah Ellison.
Ramadan Mubarak to all who celebrate! Wishing you and your families a safe and peaceful Ramadan.
Join me from 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM every Monday for Open Coffee Hours! These are informal and a chance for me to hear directly from you while we share coffee or a meal (virtually).
Office hours is on a first come first served basis. Please try not to call in past 12:50 p.m. as we want to leave enough time to chat about what you'd like to discuss.
Please RSVP here and my staff will follow-up with the call-in details. If you have any questions or concerns, reach out to Dieu Do, Policy Associate, at dieu.do@minneapolismn.gov.
On March 12th, 2024, I was honored to join Mayor Frey, Commissioner Damōn Chaplin, and other city leaders to announce the City of Minneapolis's first round of opioid settlement money to organizations combating the opioid crisis. The City is expected to receive about $18 million over the next 18 years from national settlements with opioid distributors and manufacturers.
The awardees of the funding will focus their work on treatment, long-term recovery and prevention to reduce disparities in the number of overdose-related deaths and emergency room visits.
Awardees
The awardees represent diverse needs of the Minneapolis population. They’ll increase access to opioid treatment.
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Access Healing: A significant portion of the funding will go toward safer and more supportive culturally specific recovery housing facilities.
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Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio (CLUES): The program will focus on serving Latino youths and their families. They have outpatient chemical health practitioners and therapists. They provide both substance use and mental health services.
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Generation Hope:The work is focused on addressing addiction, mental health and the associated stigma within the East African community with a strong emphasis on empowering individuals in recovery through workforce development.
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Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches: The project will launch new services to meet culturally specific needs. It will launch a mother-led support network and Nar-Anon program.
- Minnesota Somali Community Center.
Read more about the awardees and their services on the City website.
If your small business is looking to reduce on-site air emissions, clean up contamination, or generate less waste be sure to apply for the MPCA (Minnesota Pollution Control Agency) Small Business Environmental Loan program. The program offers zero-interest loans up to $75,000 to tackle these high-impact projects. You can learn more and apply here.
Our state is in the midst of the Medical Assistance (MA) renewals period; current data shows Black, Hispanic, and American Indian communities are over-represented among those being disenrolled and losing their health insurance coverage.
As part of our efforts to raise awareness about the ongoing MA renewals and to reduce loss of coverage among enrollees, Briva is hosting the North Minneapolis Health Insurance Renewal Event.
This free, in-person event is tailored to assist individuals and families renew their MA coverage. The walk-in event is scheduled for Saturday, March 23, from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM at the Minneapolis Urban League, located at 2100 Plymouth Ave North, Minneapolis, MN, 55411.
The event will feature comprehensive Medical Assistance renewal assistance services provided by Briva's MNsure Certified Navigators.
In addition to renewal assistance services, we'll also have exciting attractions for families, including fun kids’ activities, healthy snacks, gift cards and even prizes to be won! We welcome families with children to join us for a day filled with support, information, and enjoyment.
This event is designed to be inclusive and accessible to all members of our community. Language support will be available in all languages, ensuring that everyone can receive the assistance they need.
A State of Minnesota tax credit of up to $1,750 per child is estimated to cut child poverty by up to one third in Minnesota. Nearly 300,000 households, including 513,000 children, are estimated to qualify for the credit.
Minnesotans can now claim the child tax credit of $1,750 per qualifying child, with no limit on the number of children claimed. You must file a 2023 individual income tax return to claim the credit.
Learn more about income requirements and qualifications on the child tax credit webpage.
Free tax preparation
Most taxpayers who are eligible to claim the new child tax credit are also eligible for free tax preparation assistance. Over 170 sites offering free tax preparation assistance are now open to help those filing income tax and property tax refund returns. Sites are staffed by certified volunteers and offer in-person and virtual options with most being open through April 15.
Find free tax preparation sites on the governor’s website.
Are you experiencing struggles with food insecurity, housing, career readiness, and legal matters? Are you in need of help? Please look below to see which resources can be beneficial to you.
Career Readiness
Family Support & Educational Programming
Food Insecurity
Housing/Tenant Protections
Legal Representation
If you own a home in Minneapolis, you can now apply for funding to help make it more energy efficient.
Owners of homes from one to four units can apply for 0% loans (which means you don’t have to pay interest) and up to $14,000 in grants for certain home improvement projects that save energy. You can combine these City funds with utility rebates and other grants.
About the program
The Green Cost Share program is a funding program helping reduce the cost of rooftop solar and energy efficiency projects in Minneapolis.
- Eligible projects include:
- High-efficiency heating and cooling systems.
- Insulation and air sealing.
- Energy Star windows.
- Heat pump electric water heaters.
- Solar.
Who can apply?
This new offering is open to property owners of one-four unit homes. This includes townhomes, twin homes, condominiums, and properties held in a trust.
- Minneapolis properties.
- The property must have an energy audit in the last three years.
- The grant amount varies by income level and location in Minneapolis.
Apply for the home energy efficiency grants on the Center for Energy and Environment website.
You might be eligible for free or low-cost internet services. The City is partnering with local providers to help make the internet more accessible.
Resources include:
- Discounted internet for household use.
- Free temporary internet access at Wi-Fi hotspots.
- Free internet access to public sector information including City, County and State resources.
- Low-cost computers.
- Public computer access.
- Personal help from a “digital navigator.”
Call 311, email 311 or look on the City website to find details, a list of resources and how to find out if you qualify for different internet services programs.
To help others find these resources, Hennepin County has developed flyers in four languages to share.
The Affordable Connectivity Program helps households pay for internet service and get a discount on a device. Find out if you qualify for the program on the Hennepin County website.
Food Shelves and Food Distribution
- Check out the Minneapolis food security resources on the City website. You can find locations, hours, contact information, and volunteer/donation needs of local food shelves and food distributions.
- To see food shelves by location, explore our map.
Need to report an issue? Can't find the right information? Minneapolis 311 can help. 311 coordinates with City departments and service providers to report your concerns, find you information and connect you with nonemergency City services. For example, if you report an abandoned vehicle, pothole, or long grass/weeds, 311 connects with the experts in the right department to get to the bottom of it.
There are many ways to get in contact with 311 for non-emergency City information. Choose what's easiest for you.
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Call 311. Agents are here to answer your call 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Call 311 from within city limits or 612-673-3000.
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Email 311. You can email 311 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Agents will respond 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.
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Text 311. You can text 311 a short question any time. Just text two or three keywords to 311TXT (311898) to receive an answer from the Minneapolis 311 information database on your mobile phone.
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Get the 311 mobile app. Report neighborhood issues on the 311 mobile app 24 hours a day.
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TTY. 311 agents use computer-based technology so hearing-impaired callers can easily communicate with the City using TDD/TTY devices. Call TTY 612-263-6850.
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Use the contact form. You can send 311 your comments or questions on the website contact form.
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