Housing for All

Housing is a human right. And yet, we continue to see evictions, the mass displacement of community members, and homelessness skyrocket in Minneapolis and across the 9th Ward. 

This has a disproportionate impact on our Indigenous and Black communities. Every person deserves to be housed, and our city government has a critical role in ensuring that right. 

In order to address housing insecurity and unsheltered homelessness, it is my fundamental belief that we need to address the ecosystem of an individual person (addiction, mental health, employment, economic hardship, disparities and housing to meet individual needs).

What We Did:

Affordable Housing: Increased the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to $16.8 million for 2023 and $18 million for 2024. I look forward to prioritizing housing supply by building deeply affordable and socially just housing (30% AMI).

AVIVO Village South: Chief authored a budget appropriation to allocate $1,000,000 to create 100 tiny indoor villages in South Minneapolis to ensure we have housing first options for unhoused residents. This funding was meant to be a matching grant to support AVIVO in applying for a $10,000,000 grant from the Minnesota Department of Human Services. 

AVIVO North Loop Funding: Approved $1,200,000 in funding for AVIVO Village, which is a first-ever, indoor community of 100 tiny houses that provides shelter and wraparound services to individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness in the North Loop.

Little Earth Rehabilitation Project (Ward 9): Approved a $4,000,000 Affordable Housing Trust Fund award for Little Earth for rehabilitation and preservation of their 212 deeply affordable family housing units.   

Cheatham Apartments Project (Ward 9): Approved a $1,000,000 Affordable Housing Trust Fund award for a mixed income building providing deep affordability to large family units including 32 units with secured rental assistance and 20 units restricted for homelessness.

Homelessness Services: Authored a budget amendment to allocate $350,000 for people experiencing homelessness, unstable housing, food insecurity, and deep poverty. This includes healthy hot meals, hygiene supplies showers, laundry, mail, voicemail, healthcare access, employment services, and connections to other benefits.

Eviction Prevention: Permanently funded the right to counsel for people facing evictions.

Shelter Funding: Approved $950,000 in capital funding for additional shelter capacity to help residents facing homelessness.

Homelessness Representation: Amended the Housing Advisory Committee to add representation of people who have experienced homelessness. We must be able to work with those directly impacted on solutions. 

Affordable Housing Trust Fund: Amended our Affordable Trust Fund to add “Youth” as a qualifier in the Equitable Development eligibility criteria. As we seek to reduce homelessness, it is important we address youth homelessness as well.

Homeless Employment Initiatives: Passed a budget amendment to create an employment trash clean-up program for unhoused neighbors.

Encampment Response Directive: Passed an encampment response Legislative Directive to get data on the City’s current practice and costs. My office is in the process of establishing a citywide policy with the goal of addressing a non-police response, securing the storage of belongings, notice and time, ensuring services are provided, and that housing is being met.

Rental Payments Internal Work Group: Passed a Legislative Directive to explore legislative options to relieve the cost burden of added fees to tenants by property managers. We will take action on these recommendations in 2024.

Homeownership: Approved $2,500,000 for the Minneapolis Homes Program for 2023 to help eliminate racial disparities in homeownership for affordable and accessible households and an additional $2,000,000 for 2024. 

Rent Control Work Group: I was able to amend the work group to ensure that communities of color were represented and worked with my colleagues to increase renter participation.

Public Housing and Fire Suppression: Invested more than $3,000,000 in public housing for 2023 and $5,000,000 for 2024. Supported an amendment to allocate $1,200,000 million in funding to install a fire suppression system in four MPHA buildings, which will be the final piece of funding to ensure all their high rise buildings have these fire protection systems.

Minneapolis Advisory Committee on Housing Restructure: Worked with the Community Planning and Economic Development Department to amend  the membership of the Committee to include two representatives that have lived experience with homelessness.

Looking Ahead:

Humane Encampment Response Policy: Establish a city-wide policy that provides storage of belongings, date of eviction, public health measures and services, minimal police response, and the guarantee of housing in case an eviction occurs. 

Safe Outdoor Space Ordinance: Pass an ordinance to legalize small, safe and regulated outdoor encampments that are healthy, secure, staffed, and resourced for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness.

South Minneapolis AVIVO Village: Create 100 tiny indoor villages in South Minneapolis to ensure we have housing first options for unhoused residents.

Tenant Opportunity to Purchase: Support the ability for tenants to buy their homes without being displaced.

Just Cause Notice: Establish a policy so renters that haven’t renewed their lease and are being asked to leave their home get an explanation on why, ample notice, and relocation assistance if they have to vacate.

Rent Control and Eviction Moratoriums: Support city-wide rent control and an eviction moratorium during the winter months. 

Inspection Services Reform: Improve our city inspections services to ensure they are responsive to complaints and hold landlords accountable. 

Encampment Eviction Reporting Bill: Pass an ordinance requiring the administration to report on the frequency, cost, and outcome of all city-led or city-assisted encampment evictions. This must include if residents received housing vouchers, supportive housing, or permanent housing.

Displacement Prevention Navigator Pilot Program: Establish this pilot program in the Green Zones. This program will help renters and homeowners stay in their homes by hiring a team of community navigators who will canvas targeted communities in them with available resources. 

Tenant Unions: Ensure the right for renters to organize together and form tenant unions to improve renters’ protection. 

Rental Assistance: Ensure that our emergency assistance programs are funded to support families. Our city is under repair and this repair will require continued support for working people.

Eliminate Rent Processing Fees: Eliminate rent processing fees to relieve the cost burden of added fees to tenants by property managers.

Across-Government Approach: As a City Council Member, I will convene a rapid response table with our Federal, State, County, City, and Park Board governments to address the homelessness issue with those most impacted. We need to work together to ensure housing is truly a human right. 

Invest in Public Housing and Keep Public Housing Public: One of the best tools we have to build affordable housing based on income is public housing. We are underinvesting in it. I believe that the city government needs to invest in public housing options and protect against the privatization of public municipal land and housing stock. A plan is needed before to ensure we are not displacing communities by this. 

Support for our LGBTQIA+ community who are more susceptible to experiencing homelessness by funding initiatives that reduce barriers, provide support, and create a healthy and safe environment.