Coalition Adds Field Office

For twenty years, the Coalition has been a statewide organization and worked to recruit board members and provider associate members from all corners of the state; we’ve held forums and conferences in Greater Minnesota and participated in sleep-outs and shelter openings; we have wept and rejoiced at the setbacks and successes of people experiencing homelessness across the state.

However, despite our best efforts at communicating with our friends and partners in Greater Minnesota, being based in the Twin Cities metropolitan area has left us out of touch at times and contributed to the stereotype of homelessness being primarily a metro issue.

To address these concerns and to respond to the state shifting responsibility to local units of government, the Coalition opened a branch office this fall on Northeastern Minnesota’s Iron Range staffed by Liz Kuoppala, who had served for nearly four years as our policy advocate on health and human services issues.

In addition to learning about rural poverty and the barriers facing programs and people in Greater Minnesota, Liz will also serve as our eyes and ears for the goings-on of local government.

The State Legislature consolidated many programs into county block grants and although it would be impossible to advocate in all 87 counties, we will try to develop materials and training opportunities to make it as easy as possible for advocates across the state to comment on a variety of local plans, including Public Housing Agency plans, HUD Consolidated plans, and the county biennial service agreement plans.

It is our hope that by bringing these various planning processes together, we can truly design homeless prevention and response systems that best fit each community’s needs.

We look forward to taking on the challenge of local advocacy and working with our friends in Greater Minnesota to bring the stories of people experiencing homelessness to the attention of our state and local policymakers. We owe a debt of gratitude to our donors who made this endeavor possible. Opening a field office is a new experience for us and we welcome any suggestions you have for how we can be most helpful to you in your work.

Liz can be reached at:

Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless
P.O. Box 457
Eveleth, MN 55734
(218) 744-2098
kuoppala@yahoo.com