Valuing X Committee Civic Engagement

In late February 2006, the X Committee had representation at the National Low Income Housing Coalition 2006 Annual Housing Policy Conference and Lobby Day in Washington, D.C. The experience underscored the importance of getting people experiencing homelessness connected to and involved in shaping the focus and direction of housing policy. The members returned to Minnesota with a renewed energy that fueled the Committee as a whole, just in time for this year’s legislative session.

Now, in April, the group has once again shown its commitment to civic engagement.

In late March, the X Committee participated in the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless Lobby Day. At least ten people from the X Committee attended and helped turn people experiencing homelessness out. Of that group, five people acted as team leaders for citizen lobbyists.

“Before Lobby Day, I didn’t really know how bad we need to get this situation taken care of,” said Gerald from the X Committee. “Meeting with legislators and getting directly involved in the effort really made me want to do something about it by keeping myself educated and involved.”

The group continued the momentum the following day when, on their own initiative, they attended a hearing on the Housing Solutions Act at the State Capitol.

Since that time, they have been anxious to be involved in any committee hearings that are taking place.

On March 30, 2006, to continue the efforts on the city level, the X Committee held a meeting with Mayor Chris Coleman with a goal of collaboration. They wanted to continue to foster the relationship they had with the city, and so they organized and planned this meeting in order to hold the new Mayor of St. Paul accountable and responsible for the homeless people.

By collecting and asking questions from people experiencing homelessness staying downtown, the X Committee was able to start a dialogue about homelessness with Mayor Coleman.

“It was a great opportunity for the Mayor to see a dynamic group and certainly left a lasting impression on him,” said Melvin Carter III, Policy Associate for the City of St. Paul.

As a result of this meeting, the Mayor agreed to address the homeless people at the Listening House in the near future, hosted by the X Committee.

In addition, they’ve created strong allies that would like to help the group increase its capacity by working with the City Council and County Commissioners.

To enhance this outreach into the broader community, the X Committee’s Speaker’s Bureau is continuing to grow and educate the public about homelessness, speaking from personal experience to get people thinking about homelessness in a different light.

They recently teamed up with the Housing Action Team, coordinated by the Office for Social Justice of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. The groups have worked together to put on forums about homelessness that focus on action steps people can take to get more involved in the issues of housing and homelessness.

As a result of these forums, Catholic parishioners have been involved in letter writing and phone calls to legislators in support of the Coalition’s legislative agenda. The next forum will be held at the Basilica of St. Mary in downtown Minneapolis on April 23, 2006, at 1:00 p.m.

The model of the X Committee and the Coalition’s homeless organizing strategy is unlike anything else going on in the country. Furthermore, the level of involvement by people experiencing homelessness in the past and in this legislative session is mind blowing. People are finding that they have a voice.

“Theirs is a voice that is not often heard, so it’s good for people experiencing homelessness to see that they have this power. At the same time, legislators get to see that this is a group that matters,” said Kristin Titcombe of the Coalition.

Connecting people who are homeless to these opportunities helps them see it as their duty to understand and shape the issues that are affecting them, despite the fact that many are dealing with hard issues and are not always stable in their own lives.

In the future, the Coalition hopes to use this model to not only expand our own organizing, but also to lend support to other nonprofits’ staff that could perhaps be a part of similar efforts both statewide and nationally.