The Message:  With vacancy rates low and apartment rents high, families, youth and individuals in our community need affordable housing options!  Help create construction jobs and invest in our communities by appropriating $40 million in the Bonding Bill. This funding builds new construction and maintains current affordable housing units to keep them available.

Whom to Contact:

Let us know who you contacted after you call these legislators! Please take one minute and take this one question survey so we are able to track who was contacted.    http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QX3L6QY

Talking Points:

• Housing construction and rehabilitation funding will provide needed jobs for Minnesotans.
• Funding is needed for Affordable Housing to address the gaps in the community and need for housing people with low incomes.
• Research has shown that housing stability lowers costs of health care and improves education of children.

Background:

Proposal to use appropriation from the bonding bill:

• $40 million to address affordable housing infrastructure needs in communities throughout the state. Funds will be used to:
  • preserve existing federally subsidized rental housing,
  • stabilize communities impacted by the foreclosure crisis by creating new affordable housing opportunities through rental units and community land trusts, and
  • construct or acquire and rehabilitate permanent supportive housing, particularly for persons experiencing or at risk of experiencing long-term homelessness.
  • $10 million for public housing preservation.
    • Housing must be affordable to and occupied by low-and moderate income households.

Need

Preservation

• In the next 5 years an estimated 30% of the 31,000 privately owned, federally assisted Section 8 housing units are at risk of opting out of the program and will no longer be affordable housing.   Tenants in Section 8 housing pay only 30% of their income towards the rent; the federal government makes up the difference.

• This housing is approaching 30 years old; many of the properties do not generate sufficient income to pay for needed maintenance.

• $1 in state funding for gap financing can leverage $2 in private funding: $1 from amortizing debt paid by the owner and $1 in private equity from housing tax credit investors.

Foreclosure

• 26,000 residential mortgages were foreclosed in 2010.

• A “shadow” inventory exists of homes that banks own but have not yet put on the market for sale.

• An estimated 15.9% of all mortgages in Minnesota are underwater – the amount of the mortgage exceeds the current value of the property.

• Communities become less stable, have a difficult time attracting new residents and businesses and the remaining residents’ homes lose value when significant portions of a community’s residential properties are vacant and/or foreclosed.

Supportive Housing

• An estimated 46,400 persons were homeless at least once during 2009, the last year for which the Wilder Research Center made estimates based on their statewide survey.  13,100 persons were homeless on any given night.

• Children comprise one-third (1/3) of the homeless population. The number of youth ages 12-21 who were homeless increased between 2006 and 2009.

• Persons experiencing homelessness face serious barriers to stable housing.  Sixty percent (60%) of the persons experiencing long-term homelessness suffer from a serious mental illness.  One-half of all persons experiencing long-term homelessness suffer from at least one chronic health condition.  Thirty percent (30%) are women fleeing domestic abuse.

• Permanent supportive housing is proving to be a successful strategy to end long-term homelessness. Persons housed in permanent supportive housing are maintaining housing stability:  86% of the households served in permanent supportive housing in Minnesota were still housed at the end of the reporting year.  Emergency expenditures are reduced due to reduced usage of jails, emergency rooms, and detox facilities.
•  Minnesota has achieved 90% of its goal of 4000 permanent supportive housing opportunities as part of the Business Plan to End Long-term Homelessness

Downtown Congregations to End Homelessness

Action Alert

January 4, 2012

Let’s make 2012 the year Minnesota resolves to end homelessness.  We know we cannot end homelessness in one year, but we can significantly move public will!
Will you make a resolution to (continue to) do your part in 2012?
Here’s how it works:

1. Write a resolution.  Send your resolution to Heidi@dceh.org along with a picture of yourself.

Or if you have a video camera:

1. Record a short video that includes the words “I resolve…” with your personalized message.  Email your video clip to Heidi@dceh.org and we will share it through social media and other sources.  This initiative is sponsored by Heading Home Minnesota, the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless, and dozens of partners around the state.

Instructions & Tips

1. Please keep video to one minute or less.  Consider sharing your name, vocation, location and resolution.
2. Clear sound is crucial – please record in an environment without background noise.
3. Be aware of backlight – if you’re in front of a bright window, it will be hard to see you.
4. Title your video – consider using your city/region or resolution theme
5. Please consider resolving to do actions that truly get at ending homelessness.   Think about where do you have influence?  What can you do with that influence to help end homelessness? 
6. Email your video to Heidi@dceh.org.
7. Examples of actions you might consider taking:
   

Some examples: I resolve to…

• Use social media to share updates from the homeless advocacy community.
• Tour an affordable housing building.
• Have my business contribute volunteers and financial resources to build and sustain housing.
• Open my house as a host home for a homeless youth.
• Give my employees the option to participate in employee giving.
• Deliver a sermon/lecture/paper on homelessness.
• Participate in Homeless Day on the Hill on March 8, 2012.
• Dedicate a percentage of my rental units to housing people who are transitioning out of homelessness.
• Host a brown bag lunch for my employees and have a guest speaker educate us on homelessness.
• Raise $1,000 to help homeless advocacy and/or my local homeless program/
• Greet warmly every homeless person I meet.
• Meet with my legislators to share facts about homelessness.
• Have my organization sponsor an essay contest on homelessness.
• Visit my local homeless program to educate myself about homelessness.
• Sponsor one family transitioning out of homelessness by helping to stock their apartment with kitchen and bathroom necessities.
• Volunteer on one Habitat for Humanity house.
• Mentor/tutor a homeless child.
• Include people experiencing homelessness in my daily prayers.
• Have my students do a book/research report on homelessness.
• Provide a free taxi ride to a homeless person who needs a ride to shelter.
• Provide pro bono legal assistance to a homeless family.
• Volunteer at a Project Homeless Connect or Operation Community Connect.
• Hire a homeless veteran.
• Donate fresh fruits or vegetables from my garden to a homeless program/person.
• Donate food from my farm to somebody transitioning out of homelessness to stock their fridge/freezer.
• Offer a free haircut to a homeless person at my salon.
• Make our next company party be a volunteer event or fundraiser to help end homelessness.