MHP Connect

Racism, Rent and Real Estate: Fair Housing Reframed

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Created: Friday, 01 June 2018 11:19

Written by Carolyn Szczepanski

In 1968, Minnesota Senator Walter Mondale authored the Fair Housing Act, landmark legislation designed to reverse decades of residential discrimination and segregation. The goal was to usher in a new era of housing equity and racial justice, including in Hennepin County communities. Fifty years later, this vision remains unrealized.  

Through an 8-event series with more than a dozen community organizations as co-hosts, “Racism, Rent and Real Estate: Fair Housing Reframed” will reckon with our dark history of covenants, redlining and structural racism; and convene cross-sector, community-centered conversations to chart a course for housing equity in Hennepin County communities moving forward.

For residents, community leaders and policy makers, housing access and affordability has become a central and urgent issue in cities across Hennepin County. As these diverse stakeholders come together to envision solutions that provide safe, dignified housing for all, Fair Housing Reframed will use the history and current organizing in Hennepin County communities to explore the racial segregation in housing that led to the Fair Housing Act, identify how racialized barriers to housing still manifest today, and create the community and political will to make change.  

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2018 Legislative Session Recap: Advocates celebrate a historic bonding win

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Created: Thursday, 31 May 2018 16:08

Written by Laura Proescholdt

The 2018 state legislative session has ended, and while it's now quiet at the Capitol, housing advocates across Minnesota are celebrating a historic investment in the housing continuum.

Signed by Governor Dayton this week, the bonding bill includes $90 million for affordable housing and an additional $30 million for mental health crisis centers secured by Homes for All MN coalition partners.

With last year's $77 million investment, over the 2017-2018 biennium, the Minnesota legislature has invested $197 million in bonds to preserve and build affordable housing and to provide homeownership opportunities, signaling a growing recognition among lawmakers that housing bonds are key to addressing the growing need for affordable housing across the state.

Photo: Homes for All MN advocates pose at the Capitol on the final day of the 2018 session. From left: Kari Johnson, MCCD; Fatima Moore, Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless; Libby Murphy, MHP; Erin Hanafin Berg, Preservation Alliance of MN; Elizabeth Glidden, MHP; Pam Johnson, TC Habitat

Our sincere thanks to housing advocates across the state who played an integral role in lifting up the need for investments in affordable housing and educating legislators on the impact of affordable housing on health, education, economic growth, and more. Read on for more updates from the Capitol!

Read more: 2018 Legislative Session Recap: Advocates celebrate a historic bonding win

Minnesota Housing Partnership Receives $2 Million Federal Grant to Assist Rural and Native Communities

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Created: Friday, 18 May 2018 15:08

Written by Laura Proescholdt & Carolyn Szczepanski

One of just four organizations nationwide to receive funding, Minnesota Housing Partnership has received a $2 million federal grant to help rural and Native leaders solve housing and economic development issues in their communities.

The award from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will fund MHP’s Strengthening Rural Communities (SRC) program, which gives leaders the tools and knowledge they need to identify and address regional development needs through strategic collaboration. While this represents the sixth consecutive year MHP has received this funding, it is the largest award yet, more than doubling the grant award from 2016.

Photo: MHP will provide technical assistance to Thunder Valley CDC, which serves the Oglala Lakota in South Dakota. 

“HUD is committed to delivering housing solutions to underserved rural populations throughout the country, from producing more affordable housing to boosting job growth,” said HUD Secretary Ben Carson. “This funding will help these communities obtain sustainable housing and resources for their residents.”

“The Strengthening Rural Communities program is all about equipping local organizations to implement projects or access new resources,” said Anne Mavity, MHP’s Executive Director. “Our Community Development Team has worked with communities across the nation — in all 10 HUD regions — to provide communities with the needed tools to address challenges and open doors to new opportunities long after their engagement with MHP.”

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Minneapolis Task Force recommends $50 million in dedicated annual funds for affordable housing

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Created: Monday, 14 May 2018 13:52

Written by Carolyn Szczepanski

In January, MHP was proud to announce that Executive Director Anne Mavity would co-chair the Affordable Housing Task Force for then incoming Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, with the goal of engaging a broad coalition of stakeholders and regional partners to create a set of policy recommendations to increase the city and regional supply of affordable housing. Yesterday, the Task Force released its recommendations, including a proposal for a historic increase in funding for affordable housing.  

As the co-chairs noted in their letter to the Mayor: "The City of Minneapolis, and Twin Cities Region as a whole, is at a unique and critical moment to address affordable housing challenges. Without significant leadership from the City, Minneapolis will become as unaffordable as major coastal cities... Across [community] meetings and roundtables, stakeholders reinforced the belief that every Minneapolis neighborhood needs affordable housing. For the City to be healthy and resilient, each neighborhood must have a continuum of housing opportunities. Through housing, Minneapolis’ continued growth will strengthen all neighborhoods."

To make that happen, the recommendations included a bold funding goal, and four areas of focus. 

Read more: Minneapolis Task Force recommends $50 million in dedicated annual funds for affordable housing