MHP Connect

In April, the Minnesota Housing board meeting included an overview of the overhauled Minnesota Housing website, further impacts of sequestration on HUD, and the closing of HUD's multifamily office in Minnesota.  Finally, the board approved awards of funding under the Bridges program and waived the $1 million maximum award for the St. Paul Old Home Plaza project. 

Over the years at MHP, we've learned that if we can do good work alone, we can do much better work together in collaboration with our networks and partners. This is nowhere more apparent than in our shared Homes for All state advocacy work to make sure that Minnesota state agencies have the resources they need to prevent and end homelessness, to create safe and affordable housing, and to preserve the precious affordable housing we do have.

MHP has surveyed the latest tools and articles to locate those that might be of interest to MHP Connect readers. This month's resources include Wilder's release of data on Minnesota's homeless population, a snapshot of Minnesota's homeless trends, a guide on how to get affordable housing and utility stakeholders to work together, a survey that shows positive attitudes toward rental housing, and a study that explains how the housing crisis contributed to the widening racial wealth gap.

Minnesota Representative Keith Ellison reintroduced the Common Sense Housing Investment Act (H.R. 1213), which would reform the Mortgage Interest Deduction and to use the billions saved to fund affordable housing programs, for renters in particular.

H.R. 1213 would create a new balance between homeowners and renters to make federal housing resources more accessible and better targeted to those struggling with housing needs.

MHP, along with the National Low Income Housing Coalition, is actively supporting this legislation and invites others to lend their support, since passage will require a lot of education and hard work.