Affordable Housing and Homelessness // Approximately 21,000 Minnesotans are homeless or precariously housed each night. About 50 percent are children or unaccompanied youth. Each night, over 1,000 individuals are turned away from shelters due to lack of space. The number of homeless families in MN grew 325 percent from 1991 to 2000. Homelessness disproportionately impacts communities of color—57 percent of homeless adults are of color and 65 of homeless youth are of color. In the general population, only 9 percent of adults and 15 percent of youth are of color.
Minnesota needs increased development of affordable housing. Housing is considered affordable when the occupant is paying no more than 30 percent of his or her income for gross housing costs, including utilities. Families who pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing may have difficulty affording necessities such as food, clothing, transportation and medical care.
Housing is an Election Issue // We are in the midst of a housing and economic crisis. This has had massive ripple effects across the economy. Even more concerning is that the picture does not appear to be getting any better. We face a supply shortage of affortable housing. In recent years, federal and state subsidies have declined. Contracts governing more than one million units will expire in the next couple of years.
Sadly, this election cycle will be worse than previous election cycles. You are likely to encounter many residents in your community who have lost or face the loss of their home. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, more than 65,000 homeowners in Minnesota have not kept up with their mortgage payments or face foreclosure. In addition to displacing thousands of homeowners, many renters have lost their housing due to the foreclosure of their landlord's property.
Concentrated foreclosures have left thousands of properties vacant, contributing to a downward spiral of falling property values and rising crime. As a result, local tax bases in many areas have weakened while the costs of public services such as police protection and trash collection have increased.
In an effort to elleviate the importance of this issue this election cycle, MPIRG is working with a coalition of affordable housing advocates to educate community members and candidates for public office about the scope of the problem and the need for substantive change. We invite you to download, print, and use our "Housing Reverse Doorhanger". In addition to being a great resource on the issues, it has five questions you can ask any candidate who makes their way to your door.
Candidate Education: Housing Reverse Doorhanger
Support the Housing Solutions Act // The Housing Solutions Act dedicates new and significant funding for a wide range of housing needs throughout the state. The funds will come from a small increase in the existing deed tax, up 0.17% to make the new total deed tax one-half of one percent. These new funds will be used for rental assistance for families with incomes of $23,000 and below, the construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing units and a new matching funding incentive program for local governments to invest in affordable housing in their community. Write and call your legislators and ask them to support the Housing Solutions Act. (Visit www.leg.state.mn.us to see who represents you.) Write a letter to the editor of your local paper and inform your community about the need for more affordable housing in MN.
Information from Wilder Foundation, “Overview of Homelessness in Minnesota 2006.”
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Housing Solutions Act Author Senator Dick Cohen meets with students during the February 28, 2008 Affordable Housing Lobby Day. |
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MPIRG Staff Organizer Jamison Tessneer asks people to send postcards to legislators in support of the Housing Solutions Act.
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Links and Resources
- The Wilder Foundation: They provide excellent information and services.
- Heading Home Hennepin: The plan to end homelessness by 2016 in Hennepin County.
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