County gets fund for homeless prevention
by Peter Bodley
Managing Editor
Anoka County did not get its requested 10 percent increase in state funding for homeless prevention programs.
But the $550,000 grant it has received Minnesota Housing Finance Agency for the family homeless prevention and assistance program in a competitive application process is the same as the last biennium.
The grant runs from Sept. 13, 2011 through June 30, 2013.
According to Anoka County Community Development Director Karen Skepper, county staff are in the process of finalizing contracts with the vendors that provide the homeless prevention and assistance programs in the county.
“These dollars are used directly for homeless prevention,” Skepper said.
The purpose of the program is to stabilize housing for people in danger of losing the homes and find housing for people that have lost their homes, she said.
But the county is narrowing the focus of its program this biennium in hopes of qualifying for more dollars in the next round of funding in the next biennium, Skepper said.
That’s the advice the county has been given by both the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, she said.
“They have told us our program has been too broad in scope and needs to be targeted,” Skepper said.
It has meant that the county will be contracting with two fewer agencies to deliver the homeless prevention and assistance programs.
“We had to make the hard decision to cut two of our grantees,” Skepper said.
Dropped have been the Anoka County Community Action program because the education programs it offers are also being provided by other vendors with whom the county contracts and Judicare because its legal assistance program for tenants has not been found to be effective, according to Skepper.
Agencies that will be providing services in the county through the grant are:
• Elim Transitional Housing, provides housing stability for youth, individuals and families through transitional housing and tenant-based subsidies.
• Emma B. Howe Northtown YMCA, assists unaccompanied homeless youth age 16-21 with support services and basic needs.
• Community Education Action Program, direct assistance to families such as rent assistance, food and budgeting classes.
• Rise, serves families with children whose parent(s) have a mental illness and youth age 18-21 who have a mental illness that contributes to reoccurring housing crises or homelessness.
• Alexandra House, uses funds to provide case management and assist persons moving from the shelter into permanent housing.
• Stepping Stones Emergency Housing, shelter that serves single adults 18 years old and over.
In addition, Skepper said Anoka County Economic Assistance (formerly Income Maintenance) keeps some of the grant dollars to provide emergency financial help.
There are no good, recent statistics to determine how many people are homeless in the county, according to Skepper.
But all indications are that homelessness has been increasing, Skepper said.
Peter Bodley is at peter.bodley@ecm-inc.com
