MHP hosts Federal Focus on Housing virtual events on the fourth Friday of the month, from 10:00 -11:00 a.m., or as needed. You can register for the meeting series here.
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A Look Into the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel
In March 2024, MHP began working with the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel (INSY), part of the Kumeyaay people who have lived in present-day San Diego and Imperial Counties for over 12,000 years. The Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel Reservation was founded in 1893 and is located in northeastern San Diego County near Santa Ysabel and Julian.
The Santa Ysabel Indian Reservation spans elevations from 3,200 to 5,700 feet and covers a total land area of 15,546 acres (23.4 square miles). However, only 810 acres—less than 6%—are developed. The limited development is primarily due to the rugged and steep terrain, which poses challenges for construction. Additionally, water is not readily available on the reservation. Community members often must pump and transport water from community wells.
The Tribal enrollment totals just over 1,000 individuals, with approximately 211 people residing on the reservation across about 152 households. This remote area lacks a significant economy, leading to considerable economic challenges for the community. The per capita income is $26,407, while the median income stands at $45,000, representing a decrease of 66% compared to the national average. Additionally, around 80% of households are economically disadvantaged, often facing obstacles due to unreliable technology and transportation.
The housing stock on the reservation is mainly composed of manufactured homes due to terrain limitations. The Housing Department, managed by one employee under the tribal administrator and council, oversees about 115 units with under $135,000 in federal assistance from the Indian Housing Block Grant. Many homes need repairs or replacement due to limited maintenance funds.
Despite these challenges, INSY staff are motivated partners with capacity-building efforts. They sought technical assistance from MHP in the areas of Organizational Development, Housing Development, and Physical Planning. MHP and the INSY worked with a contractor to conduct a Physical Conditions Needs Assessment for 50 of the managed units of its existing housing and assisted the tribe with the PRICE grant application, which is aimed at preserving and revitalizing manufactured housing. Leveraging these two items creates a significantly positive impact for tribal members living in the tribe’s housing.
Currently, the INSY and MHP staff are collaborating to bring training for the Tribal Council and senior staff to clarify their roles and responsibilities in January. The purpose of this training is to define the duties, powers, and limitations associated with each position, promoting effective governance and decision-making. This training and guidance aim to establish a strong foundation for governance, ensuring the well-being and prosperity of their tribal community.
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Minnesota’s 2025 Legislative Session Begins in Earnest
The 2025 Minnesota Legislative Session commenced today. Lawmakers are tasked with passing a balanced budget before June 1. Lawmakers must adjourn on May 19. But the Governor can summon them back for a special session if they don’t finish their work by the May adjournment deadline. Legislators face escalating political tensions in the House of Representatives and a very different budget forecast than two years ago.
Things to watch:
- In December, Minnesota Department of Management and Budget released the November Forecast. The forecast predicts a $616 million surplus at the end of FY26-27 (7/1/2025-6/30/2027). This forecast is $1.1billion less than previous estimates. The reduced surplus prediction is largely due to higher actual spending in health and human services and education. The forecast also projects a $5.1 billion budget deficit by FY28.
- Going into session, the Senate is tied at 33-33.A special election in Minneapolis will break the tie later this month. Senate leaders reached a power sharing agreement over the weekend. Republican andDemocrats will share presiding officer posts and committee chair position. TheSenate named Senators Bobby Joe Champion (DFL) and Senator Jeremy Miller (R) as co-presidents of the Senate. Both parties will evenly split representation on committees. Lawmakers will likely undo the power sharing deal when one party holds a 34-seat majority.
- First, the House was set to convene with a 67-67ntie. Leaders negotiated a power sharing deal like the temporary deal in theSenate. When a district judge ruled that Curtis Johnson (DFL) did not live in the district he was elected to represent, Republicans announced Representative Demuth would be the Speaker of the House for the two-year biennium. Republicans also announced their intention to prevent Representative Brad Tabke (DFL) from taking his seat in the House. To prevent this, Democrats boycotted the first day of session to prevent the body from establishing a quorum, which is needed to elect a speaker. All this has led to a constitutional crisis as Republicans and Democrats don’t agree on how a quorum is reached. Today, Secretary of State Steve Simon, who presides over the first day of session, declared that quorum was not reached and adjourned session. Republicans ruled that quorum was present and proceeded to elect Representative Lisa Demuth to be House speaker. Democrats will challenge theRepublicans actions in the Minnesota Supreme Court. You can read more about it with MPR News.
What this means for housing?
- Committee budget targets will be much smaller than they were in 2023.
- In the House, House Republicans will immediately get to work convening committee hearings and introducing bills. House Democrats will file a lawsuit and continue boycotting session until the courts rule on the matter.
- In the Senate, Senator Port (DFL) and SenatorLucero (R) will co-chair the Housing Committee until a member is elected in theMinneapolis special election.
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Looking for FREE Community Development Services? Apply now!
Is your community facing a lack of affordable housing? Do you work for an organization that could benefit from enhanced local knowledge, training, and strategic partnerships? MHP is excited to open its application for FREE technical assistance for housing and community development! View MHP’s Request for Technical Assistance (RFTA) Application here.
MHP’s renowned Strengthening Rural Communities Program (funded through an eighth-consecutive Rural Capacity Building award from HUD), delivers technical and financial assistance to rural entities and Native Nations across the country, increasing their capacity to meet current and future housing needs—at no cost to RFTA awardees. By increasing local capacity, we position beneficiaries of the assistance to achieve their unique vision and sustain housing and community development successes long after MHP’s work is complete.
MHP has the expertise to assist with a variety of issues, including housing development, housing program development, organizational development, funding and resource development, and community engagement and outreach. Since 2014, MHP staff provided direct assistance to over 132 beneficiaries through customized and individual workplans; including assistance with 54 community development projects. The result: 577 affordable units are in the development process, with 33 new units completed, and 632 housing units have been rehabbed/preserved.. The assistance also contributed to the success of 41 businesses (including 8 new ones) and boosted their local economies. Read about the impact of this technical assistance in just a few communities here:
- Adaptive Reuse and Historic Preservation in International Falls, Minnesota
- Unit Preservation in Spokane, Washington
- Peer-To-Peer Training through our Housing Institute Program
- Chipola Florida Area Habitat For Humanity
- Lower Sioux Indian Community
Priority is given to organizations currently engaged in housing development as a part of their mission or actively working to build their housing development capacity. MHP also works with such entities as rural housing development organizations (RHDOs), local units of government and political subdivisions, tribal governments and tribal corporate entities, and CHDOs and CDCs. Statewide or state-affiliated entities are not eligible.
Applications are being accepted on a rolling basis. Click here to access the application directly. MHP will follow up within forty-five days to schedule a collaborative review of your application. MHP is an equal opportunity assistance provider and markets its technical assistance program to communities historically facing housing disparities. More information paper copies of all materials are available upon request.
We want to work with you! Please reach out with any questions:
Via Phone: 651-925-5545
Via Email: [email protected]
Via Fax: 651.649.1725
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PRESS RELEASE: MHP Secures Over $22 Million in HUD Grants to Strengthen Housing Solutions Nationwide
Funding to Empower Rural, Native, and Manufactured Home Communities
MHP has received two transformative grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), totaling more than $22 million. These funds will amplify MHP’s capacity-building work with rural, Native, and manufactured home communities, addressing critical housing and community development challenges.
One, a $20.3 million Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement (PRICE) grant, secured in collaboration with Northcountry Cooperative Foundation (NCF), will focus on preserving and revitalizing manufactured housing communities in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas. The other, a $2.3 million award through HUD’s Rural Capacity-Building for Community Development and Affordable Housing Grant program, will fund MHP’s ongoing technical assistance to rural and Native leaders nationwide.
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MHP Concludes Work with Santo Domingo Tribal Housing Authority
As of December 1, 2024, MHP staff has begun the closeout process for their partnership with the Santo Domingo Tribal Authority (SDTHA). The Santo Domingo Pueblo, known as Khe-wa to its residents, is located between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, along the Rio Grande. Recognized for its rich traditions, many community members still speak Keresan, along with English and some Spanish. With over 5,000 enrolled members, the Pueblo has a variety of departments providing services to its residents.
The SDTHA, established in 1995, focuses on affordable housing development for the community. They aim to provide safe, sustainable, and culturally appropriate housing that supports traditional family values and self-sufficiency. SDTHA has implemented a master plan that integrates affordable housing with economic development and infrastructure improvements.
After facing significant organizational challenges, including management issues and financial shortfalls identified in a 2019 HUD-ONAP monitoring review, along with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, MHP assisted the SDTHA with overhauling its staff and operations. MHP improved the SDTHA’s internal capacity and secured funding for new housing development projects. This support included the creation and updating of internal policies, resolving its monitoring findings with HUD-SWONAP (Southwest Office of Native American Programs), strategic organizational planning, and a Housing Needs Assessment.
Additionally, MHP assisted the SDTHA with grant writing for the Competitive Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) using resources from MHP’s Strengthening Rural Communities Grant (SRCG). Although the application scored well, it resulted in a tie with several other applicants and did not receive funding. Fortunately, due to the strong score of the application and overall improvements, the SDTHA is now well-positioned to apply for both the IHBG and the Indian Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG). This will allow them to continue planning for projects that had been on hold due to monitoring issues.
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MHP visits the Yankton Sioux Housing Authority in South Dakota
MHP Community Development staff recently visited the Yankton Sioux Housing Authority, as part of their on-going work with the Yankton Sioux Tribal Nation. MHP staff and the project team conducted team building sessions and process mapping to support the Housing Authority as they explore opportunities enhance program operations. Together, the project team toured several vacant properties that they plan to rehabilitate utilizing a recent award of $1M from their Tribal Council for this work. Once rehabilitated, these properties will be home to several local families in need of affordable housing!
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Project Highlight: Buckeye Ridge Habitat for Humanity – Marion, OH
Starting in the spring of this year, MHP staff began providing community development technical assistance to Buckeye Ridge Habitat for Humanity in Marion, Ohio. This Habitat is a dynamic social service and rural housing nonprofit organization that develops/rehabilitates affordable homes for families in four rural counties of Ohio, just east of the Appalachian Region. In partnership, Buckeye and MHP are determining target communities for affordable housing unit creation, developing a strategic action plan that will include multiple years of development on sites throughout the service area, and identifying funding sources to support the developments. MHP staff are providing tools to enhance project planning, assign resources, and demonstrate project feasibility (like project proformas). MHP is helping Buckeye access funding through multiple sources such as local CDFIs, the Federal Home Loan Bank, and various loan/grant products from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency. This project also includes developing a revolving predevelopment funding pool and exploring opportunities to expand Buckeye’s homeownership education and counseling impact across the community. MHP staff are thrilled to be a part of this amazing project!
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Housing Narrative Change Project / Home Stories
Building Public Support for Housing Solutions in Minnesota
The stories we tell about housing shape what people believe is possible — and what solutions they’re willing to support. Through the Minnesota Housing Narrative Change Project, MHP partnered with Housing Narrative Lab to better understand how Minnesotans across rural, suburban, and urban communities think and talk about housing.
This research, conducted by Lake Research Partners, included focus groups and a statewide survey of 850 Minnesotans. The findings showed that when housing is framed around shared values, stability, fairness, and opportunity, people across political and geographic lines are far more open to solutions.
This work laid the foundation for a broader, ongoing effort to change how Minnesotans talk about housing — not as a niche issue, but as something that affects everyone and strengthens communities. This work continues to shape how MHP and partners approach housing communications, organizing, and community-led development efforts across the state.
The Next Chapter: Home Stories
Home Stories is a statewide storytelling platform that lifts up real voices and builds shared understanding about housing in Minnesota. It grew out of the Narrative Change Project and is led by the Heading Home Minnesota Funders Collaborative, with MHP as a partner.
Many of the tools and resources from this project now live on the Home Stories site, with more continuing to move there over time.
Explore stories and tools at:
👉 mnhomestories.com
Resources
- Narrative Messaging Guide
- Webinars on research findings and narrative change
- Social media tools and templates
Webinar: What is Narrative Change and Why Does It Matter?
Webinar: Moving People to Action
Webinar: Statewide Research and Findings
Webinar: Putting It Into Practice
Message Guide and Key Findings:
- Download the full messaging guide
- View an online version of the Message Guide
- Download a one-page summary of findings.
Social Media Tools
Click on a category to preview them!
Horizontal Images
Click here to download the collection of horizontal images that can be used to share narrative change messages on social media platforms.
Square Images
Click here to download the collection of square images.
GIFs
Click here to download the collection of .gifs that can be used to share narrative change messages on social media platforms.
Videos
Click here to download a collection of videos.
Marisol Bello, Executive Director of the Housing Narrative Lab sat down with MHP to explain the project.
Creating Tools for Narrative Change
What narrative change work is happening in MN?
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2024 Legislative Session Wrap-Up Happy Hour
June 4 • 4:00pm • Lake Monster Brewing Co. in St. Paul, Minnesota
Thank you for joining MHP and Habitat for Humanity of Minnesota at Lake Monster Brewing Co. as we recognized, celebrated, and toasted the hard work done by housing champions and lawmakers during the 2024 Legislative Session.
