Caucus Tonight to End Homelessness!

I. Ending Homelessness

Whereas, 1,000 people are turned away from full homeless programs every night;

Whereas children and youth make up over half of Minnesota’s homeless population;

Whereas Minnesota has been recognized nationally for creating effective programs to end homelessness;

Whereas homeless service providers are ending homelessness for individuals every day;

Whereas public investment has been insufficient to end homelessness for everybody;

Therefore, be it resolved that the ____________ party support full funding of the entire continuum of homeless services to end homelessness in Minnesota.

II. Mental Illness and Affordable Housing

Whereas, a high percentage of people who experience long-term homelessness have a mental illness;

Whereas, stable housing is essential for recovery;

Whereas, community mental health services are needed to support people in their recovery;

Whereas, waiting lists for section 8 housing have become unreasonably long;

Whereas, the Bridges housing subsidy program offers transitional support for individuals with mental illness in need of housing while waiting for section 8;

Whereas, waiting lists for Bridges have become unreasonably long and people wait an average of seven years;

Whereas funding is inadequate to meet the need;

Therefore, be it resolved that the ________ party support funding for affordable and supportive housing and in particular the bridges program.

III. General Assistance Medical Care

Whereas, funding for General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) was vetoed and unallotted;

Whereas, 70% of GAMC recipients have a mental illness, chemical dependency or both;

Whereas, GAMC serves a segment of the population whose needs are not met by other state medical insurance programs;

Whereas, uncompensated care provided by community healthcare providers, crisis homes, and hospitals will be increased drastically due to the loss of GAMC;

Whereas, MinnesotaCare is not an adequate alternative for individuals on GAMC;

Therefore, be it resolved, that the _________ party support funding for General Assistance Medical Care and to provide health care to people who are currently on the program.

IV. Homeless Youth

Whereas no youth (age 16-21) should be homeless and on their own without adult guidance;

Whereas almost 2000 homeless unaccompanied youth experience homelessness on any given
night in Minnesota (Wilder Research, 2006);

Whereas homeless youth are being turned away from help nightly because the 550 youth
shelter and youth housing beds are not enough to meet the need statewide; and

Whereas supporting young people at a critical time during adolescence and transition to
adulthood is an essential investment for the future of the youth and our state and that
inadequately connecting homeless youth to supports is costly to the State of Minnesota.

Therefore, be it resolved that ___________ party support increased funding for homeless youth services so all youth can access safe and stable housing with supportive services; improved coordination of appropriate housing options for youth and homeless prevention resources and improved transition services and supports for youth aging out of foster care to ensure they have the knowledge, skills and resources to successfully live independently and prevent future homelessness.

V. RESOLUTION ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING

WHEREAS Minnesota is facing a housing crisis in terms of unprecedented rates of foreclosures;

WHEREAS there are increasing numbers of people who are experiencing homeless;

WHEREAS there are insufficient shelter spaces for the homeless and shelters are an inadequate long-term solution for people, especially families, who cannot afford housing, and

WHEREAS the cost of housing continues to rise beyond the ability of people with low-incomes to afford housing;

BE IT RESOLVED that the ________ Party immediately implement the recommendations put forward as follows:
• Cooperation of the private and public sectors to provide a mix of housing opportunities
• Increase funding for homeless services and rent subsidies
• Long-term planning and creative solutions to solve the foreclosure crisis.
• Enhance capital to leverage a maximum supply of affordable housing

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the ________ Party support efforts to assist households facing foreclosure, continue to provide resources for the production and preservation of existing affordable housing and that the appropriate supports and services required by people who are homeless or near-homeless are in place so once housed, they will not be at risk of losing their housing.

VI. A Minnesota Without Poverty

Whereas Minnesota has a national reputation for creating opportunities to move people out of poverty;

Whereas Minnesota has a strong historic and cultural tradition of funding quality investments that promote families who thrive and contribute to the health of the state;

Whereas the number of Minnesota’s children living in poverty increased by 20 percent from 2000 to 2008, (140,000 in 2008 as indicated by the Federal Poverty Guidelines, a very inadequate measure of the real extent of poverty);

Whereas a bi-partisan Legislative Commission to End Poverty conducted a two year process to identify the extent of poverty in this state and solutions that would contribute to ending poverty by 2020;

Be it resolved that over the next ten years, the state of Minnesota focus its efforts on ending poverty in this state by:

•Restoring work as a way out of poverty;
•Refocusing public assistance to streamline services and support everyone’s capacity and potential;
•Help Minnesotans build and maintain financial assets;
•Revitalize our communities through infrastructure and person to person support;
•Modernize our system of education to build the best workforce in the nation;
•Develop an ongoing structure to monitor Minnesota’s efforts to end poverty.*

*(These six areas are the focus of the recommendations made by the Legislative Commission to End Poverty by 2020).