• Transfer $1 billion to the NHTF from funds yet to be tapped in TARP (the Troubled Asset Relief Program – also known as the bank bailout program).
• Limit rents paid by tenants in NHTF-assisted homes to 30% of their adjusted income (the “Brooke Provision”).

Also call Senator Klobuchar and ask her to co-sponsor S. 1731, the “Preserving Homes and Communities Act,” which was introduced by Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) and which has three co-sponsors so far, including Sen. Franken. S. 1731 would, among other things, transfer $1 billion to the NHTF from the “sale of warrants” that were required in TARP.

You can call 877-210-5351, the toll-free number for the congressional switchboard, and ask to be connected to the housing staffer for your representative and senator.     ]]> http://ctksowers.org/2009/10/15/help-make-some-calls-to-support-housing/feed/ 0 http://ctksowers.org/2009/10/02/you-can-participate-in-two-housing-events/ http://ctksowers.org/2009/10/02/you-can-participate-in-two-housing-events/#comments Fri, 02 Oct 2009 21:55:53 +0000 dkelley http://ctksowers.org/?p=784 Even with the current emphasis on healthcare, housing and homelessness continue to be critically important issues. There are two upcoming events which are worthy of your notice and possible participation.

First, the all-important Wilder Survey, which is conducted every three years to determine the number of homeless families, youth and single adults in Hennepin County. This is a massive survey and needs as many participants as possible. If you’re available during the day or evening on Thursday, October 22nd, to help in conducting the survey, please reply to Caitlin Hozeny at chozeny@ststephensmpls.org, preferably by October 5th. Details and training information will be sent to you will be able to request a day or evening shift and a survey or youth, family or singles sites. A four-hour minimum shift is desired.

Second, a 2009 Federal Housing Policy Forum, on Friday, October 23rd, at the Wilder Center, 451 Lexington Parkway North in St. Paul, from 8:30am to 1:00pm. Featured speakers will include Mark Linton, Director of the Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, Colleen Landkamer, Minnesota State Director for Rural Development, and Minnesota’s own federal housing leaders — all of whom will give a comprehensive look at the recent legislation and what it means for Minnesota communities. Since space is limited, advance registration of $10 is requested by October 16th (contact Julie Johnson at the Minnesota Housing Partnership at JJohnson@mhponline.org). An audio conference will also be available for those who can’t attend.

Monday June 22, 2009

6:00pm Light Supper / 6:30-8:30pm Program

Central Mission Church / 1632 Charles Ave. / St. Paul

Suggested $7 donation for dinner

Please join us at the next MICAH forum (Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing) for a light supper and overview of issues that create and perpetuate segregation in our region.

• Learn how issues of race and economics influence significant housing and transportation investment in our communities
• Find out how previous transportation decisions destroyed a thriving St. Paul neighborhood and the current opportunities to benefit this community

Leading this evening will be Pastor Paul Robinson, former MICAH Chair and now Program Manager of the J.P. Shannon Leadership Institute at Wilder, and Bill Keatts, MICAH leader and educator on anti-racism.

Dinner RSVP by June 17, or if you have questions or would like to carpool from CTK , contact Mary Colbert, 612-926-7464 or Mary Jane Mitchell, 612-824-8296.

• Added $5.5 million for the Challenge Program, which is the primary way to create housing opportunities for lower income households while generating jobs and economic activity.
• Supported an extra $5 million for Minnesota Housing’s budget for a total of $90.4 million.
• Reinstated $3 million for homeless supportive services.

Take a minute and send an email to Rep. Clark and your representative on the committee to thank them for their support of affordable housing and low-income families.

• Karen Clark — rep.karen.clark@house.mn or call at 651-296-0294
• Paul Rosenthal — rep.paul.rosenthal@house.mn or call at 651-296-7803

• Emergency Shelter Funding — From $1,300,000 currently to $700,000 for the next biennium
• Transitional Housing Funding — From $6,226,000 currently to $5,476.000 for the next biennium.

Here’s what you can do to help: Call members of the Housing Finance and Policy and Public Health Finance Division and ask them to please support at least the same funding for this biennium for shelters and transitional housing programs. Note: The Federal Stimulus ESG money can’t be used to fund shelters or site-based transitional housing.

• District 61A — Karen Clark — 651-296-0294
• District 41B — Paul Rosenthal — 651-296-7803

The Minnesota Housing Partnership says we need to shout louder at our legislators because they’re making no promises about preserving the affordable housing budget although they claim to understand its economic benefits. Despite an impressive 72% return on state housing investment within five years, legislators who advocate for housing still feel desperately alone without support from others.

What can you do? 

·         Contact members of the Housing Committee.

·         Urge them to invest in housing to create jobs, address foreclosures, boost the economy, and ultimately keep people in their homes during the recession.

·         Give them three tools that can work through these hard financial times:

1.      Restore the proposed $23.5 million in cuts to the Challenge Program.

2.      Support non-profit housing bonds (H.F. 1354).

3.      Support bonding for public housing (H.F. 922/S.F. 725).

To sign and email a letter on line, go to www.mhponline.org and click on MHP Action Alerts in the left column. This will take you to the Action Alert page, and click on the first listing, “Let’s Give ‘Em a Good Shout.” Your letter will be sent to every member of the Housing Committee in the State Legislature.

Do you remember when the classic face of the homeless was that of the skid row bum? We all recall the typical character, a down and out male drunkard, living off the city streets. But times have changed, and so has the face of homelessness. Today the population of the homeless includes families with children. Between 2.3 and 3.5 million people, including 1.35 million children, are likely to experience homelessness in a given year in the United States. Although the numbers had been fairly stable over the last decade, our current brutal economy is deepening this devastating and costly national problem.

Cold Numbers
Homelessness exists throughout Minnesota. However, most homeless people gravitate to the cities because that is where services and shelter programs are most available. On any given night about 9,200 people are homeless, most in Hennepin and Ramsey County. About 38% are children under the age of 17. In fact, in the 2007-2008 school year, six percent of the children attending Minneapolis Public Schools were homeless or “highly mobile” (no permanent address, but living with various family members or friends). Think about this: At some time during that school year, 5,458 Minneapolis children went to school without having a permanent home, up 18.6% from the previous school year! The expense to the school district to support these homeless or precariously housed children as students is staggering, but not as great as the long-term expense to the state as these children grow up educationally deficient and psychologically damaged.

A Mortgage on the Future
In response to the Great Depression, our government set up a series of safety net and social welfare policies designed to address the shortcomings of the free market. These policies did not eliminate homelessness, but they effectively minimized it and sparked the greatest sustained economic growth in our country’s history.

The history of contemporary chronic homelessness that is increasingly evident in our society began in the 1980s. Over the years, our government has appropriated less and less funding to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the development of affordable housing and other housing programs. This has left our nation’s low-income population with far fewer housing options, essentially creating an imbalance in the basic safety net, the ability to earn a wage that sustains a place to call home.

Financially, a low-wage-earning family who pays more than 30% of their income for housing is considered a cost-burdened household and is identified as financially at risk. According to a recent Wilder Foundation report, about 75% of low income households are cost-burdened, compared to 33% of all people in the Twin City seven-county metro region. A cost-burdened family cannot create their own safety net, so they live on the edge, just a paycheck away from financial ruin. A loss of a vehicle needed for transportation to work, a hospitalization for an uninsured illness, or an eviction due to a landlord’s foreclosure can send a family tumbling into homelessness. And the cost to our society to help this family survive through a series of shelters and programs outstrips the cost of simply providing affordable housing options.

A number of CTK parishioners attended a meeting of the Edina Planning Commission on December 30th to show support for a CommonBond project that will provide housing for individuals and families with physical disabilities. This will be part of a redevelopment project on the site of the existing YMCA on York Avenue in Edina which will consist of a new 73,000 sq ft YMCA and 130 housing units. The proposed housing community will include 130 one-, two- and three-bedroom units in a four-story elevator building which will be planned to accommodate the needs of disabled people. The majority of the units will be rented to individuals and families earning between 15% and 60% of the area median income, with 20% of the units offered at market rate rents. The Commission approved the project after considerable discussion, including two statements from members of the CTK contingent. Nina Holiday-Lynch stressed the ideal location of the units, near transit and retail, and how important it is to provide housing for people who work in Edina. Denny Guiney stated how proud he has been to live in Edina for many years and to raise his family here and how proud he would be if the Planning Commission supported this very important, crucial affordable housing development. CTK parishioner Floyd Grabiel is a member of the Planning Commission and was instrumental in gaining approval for the project. Prior to the meeting a number of CTK parishioners showed their support for the project by sending letters to the Planning Commission.

MICAH Minneapolis Chapter

Since 1999 the Minneapolis Chapter has a history of initiating housing policy change through faith-based grass roots support.  CTK has been an active member for many years and was proud to have hosted MICAH’s successful, well-attended 2008 annual fundraiser meeting in November. 

Four current outreach activities

1. Heading Home ‘the name of your congregation’ (Example: “Heading Home Christ the King”) -  This is a simple congregational tool that can be part of any congregation’s social action network. Named after Hennepin County’s program to end homelessness, Heading Home Hennepin, this advocacy program originated at Plymouth Congregational Church.  Congregants sign on for a limited time period during which they are committed to respond to advocacy actions.  For example, they may be invited to write a letter to their council member to support an affordable housing development or to attend a committee meeting during the state legislative session.   MICAH provides the action alerts to participating congregations.

2. Supporting Proposals of Affordable Housing - The Minneapolis Comprehensive Plan clearly states that every neighborhood should have a variety of housing opportunities. A healthy and sustainable city has mixed income housing throughout its neighborhoods. Listed below are developments that we are supporting or have recently supported.

3.  The Minneapolis Comprehensive Plan -  This is the ten-year plan that each metropolitan city and township submits to the Metropolitan Council.  Minneapolis has recently laid out a plan consistent with MICAH’s vision. We need to be familiar with these guidelines as we work towards achieving a city with an infrastructure of housing for all.   Read it on the website: http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/cped/docs/03_Housing_1Dec07.pdf

4.  Housing Solutions Act - We need to take advantage of the current political will to support legislation for greater housing funding to reverse increasing homelessness in our communities.  Legislators are calling for an unprecedented housing caucus to face the many issues that are impacting housing. The political will is there both on a bicameral and bipartisan level.