Increase Stability
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City of Saint Paul passes S.A.F.E. Housing Saint Paul Tenant Protections
(As of 4.21.21 there is pending litigation on this program.) In 2017, the City of Saint Paul developed a Fair Housing Work Group to outline potential pathways for the city to advance fair housing. The Fair Housing Work Group identified goals to create the infrastructure needed to support policy and strategy work around changing the…
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Habitat for Humanity Home provides an Accessible New Beginning in Faribault
The first time Faribault High School freshman Lul Ahmed steps inside her completed new home on Willow Street, she glows with satisfaction. Her eight brothers — seven of them younger than her — dash from room to room and marvel at everything that makes this dwelling so different from their old house. There’s a laundry…
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St. Louis Park Offers Lease Incentive Payments to Landlords Participating in Housing Choice Voucher Program
A lack of participation by landlords combined with low vacancy rates makes it challenging for Housing Choice Voucher/Section 8 holders to find suitable housing in St. Louis Park. To spur participation by landlords, the St. Louis Park Housing Authority introduced two incentive payments for leases signed between October 2020 and May 2021. The incentive payments…
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St. Louis Park Enacts Ordinances to Protect Tenants
Rental properties make up about 44 percent of available housing in St. Louis Park. A 2017 study showed that of those rental properties, about 45 percent was naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH). It’s suspected that figure has decreased more since 2017, which is indicative of the overall decline in NOAH properties in the Twin Cities.…
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Broad Partnership Creates New, High-quality Public Housing for Homeless Families
The Twin Cities, like most parts of Minnesota, faces a dire shortage of safe, permanent housing options for families with children experiencing homelessness. In 2019, the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA) opened the Minnehaha Townhomes, 16 townhomes dedicated to these families, who are referred directly from the Hennepin County homeless shelter system. MPHA developed, owns,…
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Innovative “Stable Homes Stable Schools” partnership reaches thousands of young students experiencing homelessness
The Stable Homes Stable Schools program was inspired by a sobering statistic: one of 15 elementary students in the Minneapolis Public Schools experiences homelessness. Stable Homes Stable Schools provides direct rental assistance to these families through a powerful partnership. School social workers connect with families in need. The City of Minneapolis, Minneapolis Public Housing Authority…
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Flexible COVID-relief Funds Help Families Ineligible for Other Assistance, Inform Public Assistance Programs
As the coronavirus pandemic took thousands of Minnesotans out of the workforce beginning in March, it became clear that new financial assistance was necessary to keep families afloat. While several new sources of public support became available, Family Housing Fund worked to identify and begin to fill assistance gaps. In early April, FHFund partnered with…
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New Report Identifies Communities Most At-risk of Losing Their Homes Due to COVID-related Job Loss
The Family Housing Fund and Wilder Research published an analysis of unemployment claims since March and pre-existing housing cost burden to identify neighborhoods hardest hit by pandemic-related unemployment. The report found that households with children were especially at-risk of housing instability, as 51% reported having at least one adult lose employment income since the pandemic…
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Juanita’s Family Weathers COVID-19 in their Habitat Home
“It shouldn’t take a crisis to show how important housing is.” -Juanita, Habitat homeowner since 1995 In 1995, Juanita, Jacques, and their family moved out of a cramped fourplex and into their Habitat home. It’s one of thousands of homes across the Twin Cities built or preserved thanks to your support. For 25 years, that…
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Minnesota Homeownership Center and Habitat for Humanity of Minnesota Partner to Help Homeowners Prevent Foreclosure
Organizations Set to Administer Up to $10 Million in Relief Through Minnesota’s Newly Established COVID-19 Housing Assistance Program ST. PAUL, MN – August 28, 2020 – The Minnesota Homeownership Center and Habitat for Humanity of Minnesota have entered into a partnership aimed at helping homeowners facing financial difficulties due to COVID-19 to keep their mortgages…
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HOME Line Equips Renters, Advocates, and Policy-Makers to Fight for Tenants’ Rights
HOME Line is a statewide non-profit advocacy and legal service provider for all Minnesota renters. We are unique in that we serve the entire state and provide legal advice through a tenant hotline to any and all renters who contact us regardless of income, issue, or location. Because of this, we have both a unique…
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CommonBond’s Continued Expansion Efforts Across the Midwest
With the economic repercussions of COVID-19 continuing to threaten the health of our communities, the need for homes that are safe and affordable is more urgent than ever. In the face of great instability for so many renters across the country, CommonBond Communities remains deeply committed to providing supportive services along with safe, stable, affordable…