Keeping Our Eyes on the Prize

Advocates for social justice are often told to scale back our expectations during tough economic times. “Prepare yourself for cuts. Everything is on the table.” With the State projecting a $1.4 billion budget deficit, this is the message we are hearing for 2005.

The problem for the Coalition is that our mission is not to work to end homelessness only when the economic conditions seem right. Our mission is to end homelessness.

In fact (and obviously), it is in tough economic times that more people experience homelessness. Thus, we are forced to ask for more.

Let’s be clear. If we simply ignore the problem and allow cuts to human service programs be made, our communities still pay dearly with more homelessness. Local property taxes will be used to help families in crisis—when the costs are higher and the approach (e.g. emergency rooms, corrections) is less humane.

It is for this reason that the Coalition brings an ambitious legislative agenda to the 2005 Minnesota Legislative Session. The following are a few of the basic principles guiding our work:

1. Preventing homelessness is the most humane and cost effective way to end homelessness. The Family Homelessness Prevention Program assists thousands of families across the state remain in their current housing. MCH will advocate for an additional $4 million for the program. We will also work to repeal unfair penalties placed on households receiving temporary welfare (the “$50 Housing Penalty”) and people with disabilities who receive Supplemental Security Income (the “$125 SSI Penalty”).
2. Vulnerable people need stability. Permanent and transitional supportive housing are effective programs that help vulnerable people—people faced with a mental illness, health problems, domestic violence, addictions—reconnect with the community. The Coalition will request additional resources for transitional housing and will work with Governor Pawlenty, the Corporation for Supportive Housing, HousingMinnesota, and the Minnesota Supportive Housing Consortium to secure resources for permanent supportive housing.
3. We cannot turn people away from basic shelter. Closing the shelter door before everyone who needs help can get in makes a homeless situation worse. In essence, we are abandoning those with the highest needs—a practice done to over 1,000 children, women, and men each night. We will request an additional $6 million for emergency shelter.
4. Protect the civil rights of people experiencing homelessness. When our shelters are full and there is no affordable housing, people must live on the streets. State and local laws often criminalize the activities necessary for survival on the streets—camping, begging, lying, or sitting in public areas. The Coalition will work to repeal Minnesota’s vagrancy statute.
5. Prioritize housing subsidies—provided both through state spending and tax incentives—to achieve the State’s affordable housing objectives. Rental subsidies for people with a mental illness, a renters’ credit for low-income renters, property tax relief for low-income rental housing, the mortgage interest deduction—each of these are subsidies the state provides to help households secure housing. The State must prioritize and effectively utilize subsidies and incentives that maximize access to housing.
6. The State plays an important role in assisting vulnerable and low-income people—even during tough economic times. The Coalition proposes that the State evaluate potential cuts to affordable housing and human services and the costs and/or benefits of devolving human services to the local level before legislation is passed.
   This article was published in the December 2004 issue of The Homeless Report, and it was written by Michael Dahl. Please contact the Coalition if you would like any additional information about this article, or if you have suggestions for future newsletter articles.