MHP’s Emerging Developers Initiative (EDI) held a housing and economic development workshop for NW Minnesota and Tribal Nations in Crookston, MN this week: Where Are All Those Workers Driving in From and Why Can’t They Live Here? For more information on the EDI which supports the emergence and professional development of new housing developers from rural communities and Tribal Nations, contact Donald Googleye, Community Development Manager at [email protected].
Panelists at the EDI Workshop in Crookston, MN
Mark Borseth, Community Development Consultant, City of Thief River Falls;
Karie Kirschbaum, Economic Development Director, City of Crookston;
Anna Sheppard, President, White Earth Tribal and Community College (WETCC);
Mitch Berg, Associate Director of UMC’s Veden Center for Rural Development;
On Tuesday, September 20, the Senate Banking Committee’s Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development, chaired by U.S. Senator Tina Smith, held a hearing on rural housing issues titled “Examining the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service: Stakeholder Perspectives.”
The committee included testimony by Elizabeth Glidden, Deputy Executive Director of MHP, which focused on rural rental housing needs, specifically related to the Section 515 program, and recommended policy solutions.
MHP is one of a small number of organizations that have provided technical assistance with grant funds from USDA’s Multifamily Preservation Technical Assistance (MFTA) program, which supports preservation of affordable homes through the transfer of Section 515 properties from current owners to nonprofits or public housing authorities. MHP’s efforts, led by Community Development Manager Jill Henricksen, have helped preserve eighty-two units as affordable properties in Minnesota and Illinois, including securing $18.5 million in funding for preservation. As well, MHP’s research on Section 515 properties in Minnesota has caught the attention of housing advocates, cities and counties, and lawmakers.The Senate committee also featured testimony from Marcia Erickson ofGROW South Dakota, Tonya Plummer of Enterprise Community Partners, and David Battany of Guild Mortgage Company. Ms. Plummer’s testimony included advocacy for support of the Native American Rural Homeownership Act (S. 2092, H.R. 6331), a bill endorsed by MHP, would authorizing the USDA Secretary to use $50 million of existing 502 single family housing direct loan appropriations for a national relending program so that Native CDFIs across the country can increase access to affordable home loans in rural Native communities.
On Thursday, September 22, MHP is hosting a day of housing policy practicum for northwest Minnesota and tribal nations in Bemidji, MN. The day long event hosted at Bemidji”s Carnegie Library + Watermark Arts Center, will provide the opportunity for networking and provide training and tools to support local housing development.
Sessions and Workshops Featuring:
Morning Policy Plenary at Bemidji Carnegie Library
Welcome and opening remarks by Jorge Prince, Mayor of Bemidji.
Welcome and opening remarks by Jorge Prince, Mayor of Bemidji. GIS Presentation: Participate in an interactive overview of housing development, followed by a multi-sector panel discussion exploring regional perspectives and approaches to housing. Lunch and Networking at Watermark Arts Center
This Housing Opportunity Workshop (HOW) is first in a series to promote networking and provide training and tools to support local housing development.
Thanks to our technical assistance partners: Greater Minnesota Housing Fund • Minnesota Housing • Northwest Minnesota Foundation • Northwest Small Business Development Center • Architect Jacob Mans.
For more information and to register contact Donald Googleye, Community Development Manager donald.goggleye[at]mhponline.org.
A webinar on the importance of candidate engagement during the 2020 election, with a focus on housing. Learn about the 2022 Candidate Questionnaire on Housing Issues, tips for non-profits engaging with candidates, social media engagement, and hosting candidate forums. You can find presentation slides (PDF) here, and a video recording here.
Welcome to the new MHP series Take Five, in which we ask the same five questions of a variety of people intersecting with MHP, from staff to housing advocacy luminaries! First up are our two summer interns, Alex Griffin and Shuping Wang.
Winning the alphabetical lottery is Alex Griffin, currently getting a Master of Public Policy from the University of Minnesota (expected graduation Spring 2023). Their most recent work experience was as a Waiver Case Manager in Ramsey County, where she supported a caseload of ~30 elderly waiver recipients, and as a Trans Provider Passages Consultant with RECLAIM. She is currently a board member of the Central Area Neighborhood Development Organization (CANDO). This summer, Alex will be supporting the development of a new area of research MHP is about to embark on: examining property conditions of homes and the implications of those property quality for households statewide. At MHP, Alex is also supporting the development of a statewide public education campaign on housing in rural areas of the state.
Shuping Wang‘s educational background includes getting a Master of Public Policy (graduating May 2023) from the University of Minnesota, a stint at Utrecht University in the Netherlands the summer of 2018, and a Bachelor of History with a Minor of Economics at Xiamen University in Fujian China. This past February, she participated in the RENTERS project to find the gap between renters’ experiences and current rental policy in Minneapolis, leading interviews with advocacy organizations, city official and renters.
Shuping will be conducting an analysis of the various Emergency Rental Assistance programs and the dissemination of ERA in Minnesota over the past year. She will be conducting interviews with legal service providers, local jurisdictions, program operators and field partners to better understand the successes and barriers of the rental assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Take 5 with Alex Griffin
Q: What is your name? Alex Griffin
Q. What attracted you to working with MHP?
Alex: My background is in social work, and access to safe, secure, and affordable housing was always the biggest barrier to stability that the clients I worked with faced. MHP immediately attracted me as an opportunity to be a part of the solution to some of these larger issues.
Q. What’s a challenge in the field of housing right now?
Alex: Funding! Congress capped the number of public housing units at current levels back in the 90’s, but since then many units have been demolished without funding to replace them. According to HUD, the U.S. could add as many as 220,000 new units if only there were financing for Public Housing Authorities to construct them.
Q. Is there a book (or other media) by your bed, and what is it?
Alex: I’m reading the second book in the Three Body Problem trilogy by Liu Cixin. Without giving too much away, it’s a science fiction series that contemplates astrophysics and the philosophical questions related to academic skepticism. Highly recommend it!
Q. Who is your superhero?
Alex: Emma Goldman
Take 5 with Shuping Wang
We asked Shuping the same five questions, and she gave us a narrative response:
Shuping: My name is Shuping Wang. I am major in Public Policy at Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota. Through my last research project in Humphrey School, I interviewed several renters in Minneapolis and I realized they are a vulnerable group of people. The housing inequality has been exacerbated by the pandemic in US. We are hoping through this research project we can investigate various rental assistance programs provided by the governments.
I am an international student from China. This is my second year in America and I like my life in Minnesota. I have made several friends and they are really nice people. I am impressed by the natural landscapes here. Recently I have been reading A River Runs Through It, recommended by a friend of mine. With the book I am trying to picture the people who have lived on this land and their old lifestyle. It would be a fun journey!
MHP hosted a virtual learning opportunity on the new MN Affordable Housing Tax Credit (AHTC) on Thursday, July 14, 2022. This new housing tool invests $10 million annually to affordable and workforce housing. Passed in 2021, it will go into effect in 2023. It is the only new and on-going investment in housing development from this legislative biennium. MHP led the effort to enact this program and we want to ensure that as Minnesota Housing designs a program that works.
This webinar helped inform comments MHP prepares for Minnesota Housing.
Hear from the bill’s chief author Senator Carla Nelson, Jennifer Henderson the Planning and Housing Development Director from North Dakota Housing Finance Agency, which ran a similar tax credit contribution style program, and Dan Madler from Beyond Shelter who developed multiple projects with ND’s program.
Watch the Full Recording: here, and view Presentation slides (PDF): here, Meeting Chat (PDF): here, AHTC Summary: here.
MHP is excited to launch a multi-year statewide housing campaign in 2022. We seek to change the hearts and minds of people throughout the state about housing—dispel myths and stereotypes about who needs and lives in affordable homes and promote understanding about how housing affects our ability to succeed and thrive – in order to ultimately achieve legislative victories for housing at the state legislature.
We hope you will support us in our effort to generate game-changing and sustained housing investments and policies. Linked here you’ll find our RFP for campaign and communications services. Respondents may apply for all or part of the scope of work components.
Thank you for helping us get the word out about this widely! We at MHP look forward to updating our community as this campaign moves forward.
RFP Response Deadline:
Responses are due by Thursday, July 14, 2022, end of business (5:00 pm). Please send all responses via email to [email protected]. Review of RFP responses will begin as soon as responses are received and will continue until selection.
On a windy Rochester day, Housing Institute 8 teams gathered to learn how to achieve more affordable housing in their community.
MHP established the Housing Institute in 2010, bringing together housing leaders and stakeholders to share experiences and best practices to catalyze the development of affordable housing throughout the state. This peer-to-peer exchange drives the formation of regional partnerships through a team-based approach, capitalizing on local expertise and resources.
Now in its eighth iteration, the 2022-2023 Housing Institute (HI8) features four teams from Southeastern Minnesota communities: Janesville, Wabasha, Winnebago, and Winona. Throughout the next year and a half, the teams will pursue a specific project addressing the housing challenges they face. MHP supports these efforts via direct technical assistance and workshops.
This past month, MHP kicked off HI8’s first workshop in Rochester, Minnesota with a hybrid in-person/virtual format. MHP worked with the teams in identifying community housing challenges they each hope to address―establishing a firm foundation for the work to come.
Future workshops will include exploration of development models and strategies, existing resources, funding opportunities, and more. Curriculum is tailored to each teams’ needs, driving solutions in supportive and senior housing opportunities, addressing homelessness, and identifying viable building territory. Keep an eye on our website to see how teams progress at the Institute! Questions about the Housing Institute? Contact Housing Institute Coordinator Harlan Buckalew via phone at 651-925-5536 or harlan.buckalew [at] mhponline.org.
Minnesota Housing, MHP and MCCD are hosting an in-depth engagement session on the to the 2024-2025 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) and Self-Scoring Worksheet Tuesday, June 14. Minnesota Housing’s Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) describes how Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (HTC) are distributed to multifamily rental projects. Minnesota Housing will present an overview of proposed changes to the QAP and answer questions. Participant input will be utilized by Minnesota Housing, as one of several engagement sessions, and will also inform MHP’s comments on the 2022 QAP.
Summary of the proposed changes can be found here.
Join Minnesota’s Opportunity Starts at Home (OSAH-MN) Campaign to learn what action Congress is taking to support housing justice through resources and policy. You will learn about the OSAH-MN campaign, get updates on what is happening in Washington, DC, and receive training on federal advocacy activities.
You can access a recording of this program here, program slides here, and the meeting chat here.
Several advocacy actions were recommended by Sarah Saadian of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Links referenced during Sarah’s presentation can be found here.
We invite you to join the Minnesota Chapter of Opportunity Starts at Home! You can join the campaign here.
The Minnesota Chapter of Opportunity Starts at Home (OSAH-MN) is a federal advocacy campaign working to meet the housing needs of under-resourced Minnesotans. OSAH-MN is committed to organizing locally and acting at the federal level to secure the resources necessary to ensure that everyone has a home.
