Speaker 0 00:00:07 <inaudible>
Speaker 1 00:00:31 Kathy, I got org. This is disability and progress. We bring you insights into ideas about and discussions on disability topics. My name is Sam. I'm the host of this show. Charlene doll is my research team. Hello, Charlene. Good, good, whatever today. Good day. Our topic is affordable housing this week and we will be speaking with DHS or department of human services, assistant commissioner Gertrude <inaudible> and Rachel Robinson, who is the deputy commissioner for Minnesota housing. Good evening, or hello ladies. And thanks so much for joining me.
Speaker 2 00:01:17 Thank you. Thanks for having us.
Speaker 1 00:01:19 Thank you. Um, I would like to start out just before we get into talking about affordable housing, which is a huge topic. Um, this is a much needed topic of education. I have known a number of people through my time. Who've gone through the system and it feels like a total maze to me and I still don't understand it. So I hope to shed some light of education to the general public about this. Um, meanwhile, I want you each to just, if you would give me just a brief minute of telling me how you got to your posts, but made you get interested in this area of where you are now in your life work, wherever it wants to go first, just identify yourself and go ahead.
Speaker 2 00:02:10 All right. Thank you, Sam. This is Rachel Robinson, Gertrude, and I planned ahead to divide up questions. I'll try to speak first when we're both answering. So this digital format works a little better, but I'm Rachel Robinson. I'm the deputy commissioner at Minnesota housing, just the state's housing finance agency. And I got here. Um, affordable housing is my work and my passion and I got here early in my college education, a mentor of mine, uh, wanting to get me out into the community. I didn't grow up in Minnesota. I went to college here and I found myself volunteering in one of the larger housing communities that have section eight vouchers, a lot of new Americans, a lot of children, um, families intergenerational, and the concept of as an economic concept, that there is something that we all need that there isn't enough of. And that is actually hard to come by, is such a driver for me. I have worked in affordable housing development and finance for my whole career have put together some pretty complicated developments that have, uh, supportive services. Those have to be funded and it's pretty complicated system. So I am now working with our commissioner commissioner, Jennifer ho, um, as part of state government, where we do get to touch a lot of the strategy and policy around housing.
Speaker 1 00:03:36 All right, thank you.
Speaker 3 00:03:39 And, um, my name is Gertrude, my Timbo Macassa. I currently serve as the assistant commissioner for community support within the department of human services, commonly known as the HS. And I have spent most of my career in the nonprofit world. I started out actually, um, in corporate America, uh, and then, uh, discovered the nonprofit world, um, particularly the economic development, better the nonprofit world early on in my career. I, and then that slowly evolved into human services. And so, um, most recently I served as the chief executive of Phillis Wheatley community center, which is a legacy institution in the heart of North Minneapolis. And, um, in that position, I really got to understand all the needs within the community and housing, um, economic stability, food insecurity, and that's how I really got interested in, uh, in working for the state. And here I am today.
Speaker 1 00:04:44 Excellent. Thank you. So I want to start out, which feels like a huge question for me is the different types of affordable housing. There feels like there's so many different, um, you know, types section 42 section eight. Income-based it seems, I don't know how many different types that you have that are considered affordable housing types. Um, and could you talk a little bit about them and how, how many different types there are, first of all, I'm just curious. Um, and then how one qualifies to be on these types of housing.
Speaker 2 00:05:25 Yeah, thanks Sam. This is Rachel. I'll kick us off with the sort of high level, what is affordable housing where, you know, what do we call it? The types of programs. And then I'll hand it to Gertrude who has a much more human centered approach to thinking about this, but, um, not to put everyone of your listeners straight to a nap, but in affordable housing, we kind of start with this basic premise that housing is affordable to you. If you're spending no more than 30% of your income. Now this is just a academic concept. That's been around a really long time, but it still drives a lot of what we do in the realm of affordable housing. And I would get into the government supported affordable housing, but particularly in the twin cities where we're talking affordable housing, it means the rent is affordable. And so a lot of the housing that's affordable to people who are lower and moderate income in our community is actually just the older housing stock that doesn't have amenities or isn't upgraded and is not touched by government financing.
Speaker 2 00:06:29 So that's actually the majority of units that are affordable to people, but then we also have this really robust system that I'm part of that is the affordable housing finance world. And I wish I had counted up the programs. It's probably pretty embarrassing, multiple pages and a lot of acronyms. Um, but to try to make some sense and do some sorting of what are these programs. We think about it as there are federal programs, people know HUD, they've heard of housing and urban development, but what they might not know is that the IRS, um, is actually the sponsor of the largest program. Um, it's called the tax credit section 42 of the IRS code, uh, gives these investment dollars, um, that flow through States and local government to build and preserve housing. So that's a big piece of housing is the tax credit program. Um, we also get into the true federal programs.
Speaker 2 00:07:25 Section eight, section eight is one where households who get, um, a section eight voucher through a local housing authority. And can port take that voucher to any community that will take it. That's a big part of section eight as our communities that have, um, section eight project based. So basically subsidized rent at the development level. So fixed in place, the apartments are affordable to anyone who moves in who's low income. There are a lot of other acronyms in between. Um, and we also have public housing authorities who are a really important partner. Um, we have a lot of public housing authorities across Minnesota and rural communities in each of our cities. And they administer the larger developments. You might think about as public housing as well, single family homes and some of the section eight voucher programs. Um, but generally the really important piece of the system that we think about is that mission oriented organizations provide housing and we partner with them to build and preserve more at Minnesota housing. We also work on those income or subsidy supports for households. So I'll hand it to Gertrude to break it down a little further, especially for those who are seeking housing.
Speaker 3 00:08:43 Yes. Thank you, Rachel. This is Gertrude. Um, so when we think about, um, housing options for people with disabilities, uh, DHS, we're really thinking about it. Um, not from the bricks and mortar perspective. That's Rachel and Minnesota housing sort of side of the equation for the brick and mortar part. All part at DHS is really the income supports making the available housing affordable and accessible for people. So we think about this really in three buckets and the first one, um, is what's available in terms of how to help people pay for housing. And so, you know, some of those things that Rachel has talked about, like section eight, housing choice vouchers, um, housing trust fund, rental assistance, MSA housing assistance, family reunification, unification programs, those are programs that are designed to make available housing accessible for people. And then also think about types. Um, when we also think about options for people, we think of types of settings, but typically people are thinking about, is this a group home?
Speaker 3 00:10:02 Is that adult foster care? Is it a board and lodge? Um, you, here's another one that you hear often, is it assisted living with services? Is it a nursing home? Uh, and, and, um, you know, lately because of the pandemic, we're hearing longterm care facilities. So these are types of settings that, um, uh, available to people with disabilities and older adults. And then the third bucket would be services that help people, uh, with housing with specific needs. So for example, uh, most people know what the PCA program is, which is the personal care assistance program. And this is a program that helps people, uh, that provides services for people in their own home typically. So, you know, you can get whatever services you need, whether it's daily living activities or whatever you need, uh, in your own home or wherever you choose. You think about services such as, um, moving home Minnesota, which is a program specifically designed to move individuals from institutions, um, back into the community.
Speaker 3 00:11:16 So there's just really this wide wide array of options for people. And the way we we talk about it is we say, this is so great that we live in Minnesota and we have all these great options, but at the same time, as you mentioned, uh, earlier Sam, it is confusing for people and we understand that it is confusing. And that is the reason why, um, you know, the state, uh, created the disability hub and the disability hub is, is basically a free statewide resource network that helps people navigate anything to do with housing. If they have a disability, what are the resources that are out there? And for people that are interested in accessing the disability hub, they can call. And that number is (866) 333-2466. I'm going to repeat the number again, (866) 333-2466, but they can also go to the website, which is www dot disability hub, mn.org, www dot disability hub, and then.org. There is also an option to live chat, and really one of the most wonderful things about the disability hub is that, um, services are offered in multiple languages. So it may not be all the languages on planet earth, but quite a few languages there. So, uh, we're, we're trying to make this accessible, as people are trying to navigate this very, uh, all these wonderful options that are available to them.
Speaker 1 00:13:03 So I wanna talk about, um, the placement or amount of housing available. So first of all, um, it seems maybe that it might matter with someone's situation. So for instance, um, if they have a disability, if they're homeless with a disability, if they're a single parent with a disability, or if they're a student with a disability, does it matter where, or how quickly they can climb the rungs of the weight waitlist mat ladder? Uh, I wonder about that. And the other I thought is that it must be that there is a, since I know it seems like section eight, um, I hear it bounced around, but I also hear people say, Oh, that's been closed for awhile. Um, or it doesn't open very often that there must be more housing and certain types of housing than others, more housing availability, I guess I should say, in certain types of housing than others. So if you could speak to those two things,
Speaker 2 00:14:08 Yeah, this is Rachel. So, uh, you are correct thinking about it from the housing availability, that general lens, anyone who is listening, who has tried to navigate and find housing, especially housing with some subsidy knows that there are wait lists. There are wait lists that are closed. And when you get into section eight and the vouchers that households can use anywhere, but portable vouchers, those wait lists are, um, are critically oversubscribed. And, and that's really devastating. I do just want to pause on that point that, um, some statistics are that only one in five households who need a voucher will get a voucher. And, um, there's just simply not enough. Um, so th that's a hard point because we're housing is a basic need. We all need housing. We don't have it as a basic, right. We don't have enough resources, um, to give everyone, uh, the options that make the most sense for them.
Speaker 2 00:15:08 And then there's the sorting, you know, what's the right fit for each household. Um, we have a lot of really integrated settings. That's been a, um, important aspect of housing, uh, choice in the last, you know, especially decade, but in longer. And so people who are experiencing homelessness and who experienced homelessness for the long term, you know, should be navigating the system through one direction, one door with assistance from, uh, social services. People with children are going to need a community setting and a unit that works for them, especially in rental. So I'll highlight just to be a bit optimistic, some of the best, um, stuff we do see, cause we do have a lot of partners who specialize and who come up with programs that are uniquely created to, you know, wrap around services that meet the population one that I'll highlight. Um, and I hate to play favorites because we love them all.
Speaker 2 00:16:03 But is Clare housing, uh, Clare housing provides housing for, uh, people living with HIV and they have done this for decades. They specialize in really knowing the needs of the community, um, in the units, the services that are provided and the wraparound supports that are there, Jeremiah program and other local rockstar, um, program works with families. They really have this whole family approach working with a lot of parents with small children to make sure that that early childhood education is as critical as the adult education for that family to have the support they need. So these are some really, uh, important questions though, in the policy world of housing. And I know that Gertrude has a lot of firsthand experience with what families face and individuals face and, and looking for housing. And these wait times.
Speaker 3 00:16:59 Yes. Uh, this is Gertrude. Thank you, Rachel. Um, and so when we're guiding folks, um, in, in terms of what they can expect, um, everything that you said is, is spot on Rachel. It just depends on, you know, what's available. Um, but one of the most important things that we also try to factor in is really the choice. Uh, so just because something is available, doesn't necessarily mean somebody will get to choose that particular type of program or housing. And so, um, you know, once again, it's really great that there are all these different options and that's the reason why we, um, we, we, we want to make sure that we have, um, a way for people to navigate through that the disability hub, Minnesota, um, and the housing benefits website, just to really help to walk people through all the different options and so that they know what to expect because everybody's situation is always going to be different.
Speaker 1 00:18:02 I'd like you to, to talk about, I know there's something new that's kind of happened. What about, uh, stabilization and housing stabilization? What is it and how does it help, um, a person was a disability doing this whole navigation thing.
Speaker 3 00:18:23 Sure. This is good too. I'll take that. Um, so how you think stabilization is the brand new benefits and our Medicaid program, and it helps people with disabilities and older adults. So it's two things. So the first one is to find housing. Um, and the second thing is to maintain stable housing and this, uh, benefit came about, um, because the state recognized two things. The first is that, um, having, uh, affordable housing, just having available affordable housing is not enough for people who have a disability because those individuals may need support, uh, to navigate the system understanding at lease, um, all those really complicated processes. So housing stabilization is, uh, is able to provide those services for people. The second piece is that, um, there is a close link between health and housing. And so this is the reason why we're able to turn this into a Medicaid benefit because when we take care of people with housing needs, we're also taking care of their health needs. And so we're really, really excited to report that since we launched just in July, over 2000, people have already been served through this housing stabilization program. And, uh, with each passing day, we're seeing more and more people reaching out for assistance. And we're really, really excited that we've finally been able to really connect housing and health through this, uh, Medicaid benefit with housing stabilization.
Speaker 1 00:20:26 So what are the qualifications for getting this housing stabilization? Is it to be on Medicaid?
Speaker 3 00:20:33 Yes. You, you have to be on Medicaid. You have to be on Medicaid, um, to, to receive housing stabilization benefits.
Speaker 1 00:20:43 Okay. Is that the only qualification? So typically
Speaker 3 00:20:48 When we're thinking about, um, this type of benefit, you, you think about, um, how you qualify for Medicaid, uh, uh, services and there's all that background information about income. Do you have a disability? How old are you? Um, all of those go into how you qualify for Medicaid and then once you're in Medicaid, um, then that, that, that allows you to be able to access this based on the needs that you have.
Speaker 1 00:21:18 Okay. Gotcha. I'd like to talk a little bit about how housing needs have changed during the pandemic. I'm sure people are really sick of hearing about the pandemic, but this is the time we were in. If you could talk a little bit about how the housing needs have changed, that'd be great.
Speaker 2 00:21:37 Yeah. This is Rachel. So housing and health go hand in hand, Gertrude just really emphasized some of that very important data and research. And we are in a pandemic. And the number one piece of advice we are hearing is stay home, stay safe, stay home. And boy, does that ever emphasize the critical importance of a stable and safe home, and one that is affordable, children are receiving their education at home. So they may not have broadband or are consistent access to, um, a quiet place within their home. So a sufficient home that really meets the needs of households is more emphasized than ever, and people have lost income. And that is the number one challenge that they are facing and that income loss I'm sure you've noted in the news is disproportionately impacting, um, especially women who are low income and low income households where black indigenous and people of color. So we know that people are struggling to pay rent. We're seeing a decrease in rent payment. Confidence is also in the home ownership side. So people who own their homes, um, who are not confident that they'll be able to make that next payment. And so we combine that with the public health importance of a home, and we certainly have, you know, changing housing needs and a housing crisis on top of one another. Um, it, it is very important to think about it that way. I think Gertrude I'll hand it to you next,
Speaker 3 00:23:09 And this is gratitude. Uh, and so, uh, DHS, when we're thinking about what's happening in the housing arena for people with disability, um, we want, I want to start out by sharing what we're hearing, uh, for people who receive services in their own homes, because of this pandemic, what we're finding out is that people having to balance, um, the risk of going without their services, um, because they don't want people to come into their home. Um, and, and, or, you know, so it's really, really tough choice for people. You know, what, if I, if I don't get this services, I may end up getting hospitalized, but if I get the services, then maybe I could be exposed to the virus. We're hearing a lot of that is really a huge struggle for people. Um, we're hearing from the workers that they may be afraid to go into a person's home to provide those services.
Speaker 3 00:24:13 And as dependence has continued to progress, uh, we're finding that more and more workers, if they've been exposed to the virus, they're not able to work at all. So this is really creating a lot of, um, anxiety for people. Um, and we're having to really, um, help provide us to, to work through how to best support individuals, um, as, as they, as they're facing these tough choices. On the other hand, we also have people who live in shared housing facilities, commonly known as your group homes or foster care nursing homes, those types of facilities, where they experiencing difficulties, maintaining social, safe, social distancing, um, they Juarez particularly in the summer, a lot of discussion around how one person's choice to go out into the community. And how does that affect everybody else in the home? And does that person have the right to go out and enjoy a baseball game? And then can they still come back to the home? So that's, that's another really big one that we're hearing.
Speaker 1 00:25:29 Um, how do they die that,
Speaker 3 00:25:32 Oh,
Speaker 1 00:25:34 That's a, that's a, that's probably a very debated topic in the house, right?
Speaker 3 00:25:40 It is a very, very, very challenging topic. Uh, no matter how you look at it, because, um, when you have several people in the same home and one of them say has a job somewhere, and then, um, they are choosing to go out because that's what, you know, gives them a sense of fulfillment and it's their job, but it's, it's, it's, it's, you know, uh, it's important to them, but then at the same time you have a virus and then you have somebody in the home who may be high risk. How would you manage that? And so people are just, we're just encouraging people to have those discussions, um, and figuring out what's best for people, but really at the center of all of this is how do we maintain everybody's good, Nikki, how do we continue to respect each other? And also, how do we keep everybody safe? It
Speaker 1 00:26:36 Feels like no hard and fast rules.
Speaker 3 00:26:38 I think this is one of those where on who you talk to, um, and, and both sides are really convincing, right? So the people who say, you know, the virus is, is raging. Everybody should just stay home. Um, that's, that could be considered convincing. And then when you talk to the people who, um, really value, you know, going to work and to stay job and all of that, it's their right to do that as well. So it's, it's, it's an ongoing conversation, I would say. Um, and I think individual settings just have to really figure out what works for their particular setting and their particular,
Speaker 1 00:27:20 Oh, that sounds like a really, a tough place to be.
Speaker 3 00:27:27 It definitely is. Um, it definitely is because how do you, how do you make sure that everybody's happy when they, when both parties are on two opposite ends of that?
Speaker 1 00:27:39 And so how are you dealing with, um, people like social workers or people who need to go into people's houses and they're nervous to do so, what are you doing with that? So
Speaker 3 00:27:56 When we think about people going into a facility to serve or to perform a duty, the most important thing to remember is that, um, it is their decision, whether or not they want to go. And if, if, if they choose to go, and then we start talking about, um, you know, do we have enough personal protective equipment? Are we, do we have availability? Uh, do we have the available resources to test everyone? So we know, um, who should isolate and, and, and who should remain in the group. So, um, it is understandable that in this environment, people are nervous. We're all nervous, even just going to the grocery store.
Speaker 1 00:28:50 Right. Um, but especially going into, I think, going into a home, that's such a private space.
Speaker 3 00:29:00 It, it definitely is. Um, and that's the reason why we really, you hear, uh, the state really talking a lot about personal protective equipment. Uh, and the state has, um, made a lot of progress, really in making personal protective equipment available to, um, direct care workers, because we want people who need the services to continue to receive these services, because we don't want people to go without the services and then end up in the hospital because it didn't get the care that they needed.
Speaker 1 00:29:36 Gotcha. Can you talk about income levels? Um, you know, I think now it's really difficult. People's income is being affected. Um, many, many companies have figured how to have people work from home, but not all. And some companies have folded and some people have been laid off. Actually a lot of people have been laid off. So what happens in the sense of if somebody is already in affordable care housing or affordable housing and they lose their job, what happens with that whole rent thing? And how does, how is this affecting everyone and what protections do they have? Yeah, this is
Speaker 2 00:30:18 Rachel. So we're talking in early December and we know that a lot of households have lost income. They've lost formal income. So they lost their job due to COVID that was wage paying, and maybe they've had access to unemployment insurance, but as of today, we don't know of any extensions. And a lot of those programs are running out of time. And people also aren't income in informal ways, maybe caring for a neighbor's kid or doing some jobs driving for one of these apps services. And there are fewer protections for those households. Certainly. Um, I did just get a, I'm so fortunate to have at my fingertips. Our research team, um, reminded me that we have 100,000 households, both renters and homeowners in Minnesota who are very low income. So that's sort of the poverty line and below very low income where there's a member of the household who has a disability and of those households of those hundred thousand households, um, person with disability and very low income over 75% of them are what's considered cost burden.
Speaker 2 00:31:27 So already before the pandemic, they were paying 50% or more of their household income toward their housing costs. So we already had some really serious issues that households were facing in Minnesota. And the pandemic has, um, really emphasized in terms of the protections. What are the safeguards? Um, fortunately for the lucky few, um, who are living in some kind of subsidized section eight type development, uh, those section eight vouchers adjust for household income. And so there are some protections and safeguards built in, but for most people that isn't how their rent works. Rent is rent and rent has to be paid or house payments, association, dues, property taxes, utilities, they have to be paid. So, um, we've had in place in Minnesota since, um, early in the pandemic and eviction moratorium at the state level, there's also a CDC, federal eviction moratorium. So we are not seeing a lot of evictions.
Speaker 2 00:32:26 There are very few and unlimited circumstances that are moving forward, but we also know the rent is still due. You may not be able to be evicted for not paying, but the rent is still due and that households are very behind. So again, we're talking in early December, we just wrapped up Minnesota housing, um, had access to $100 million of federal cares act funding that we used for an emergency housing assistance program specific to COVID the federal rules. The money runs out at the end of December, 2020. We don't control that, but, um, we also, uh, were, uh, able to use, we saw households access all $100 million that does put a real point on what we are facing in Minnesota, that we, in a short few months, we just started this in the, in the fall, um, uh, used $100 million to help people catch up on missed payments where they were already behind.
Speaker 2 00:33:21 So we know that going into 2021, uh, resources support, um, to keep people housed is going to be critical. We need more help with the safeguards. Um, there's lots of advocacy happening on that front. We hope it's successful. Uh, it is certainly certainly easier to keep people housed and support them in place than it would ever be to recover from a wave of evictions or a wave of housing loss that would be truly devastating. And so, uh, continuing to work hard at the state level, federal local advocates to push for support for people so that we don't see housing loss. We've been fortunate this far, but we have a ways to go.
Speaker 1 00:34:03 Can you tell me how long the eviction moratorium is in place for? So
Speaker 2 00:34:10 My understanding, I hope I get this right, but that the federal does and this month, and this is a CDC, a federal moratorium, but the state of Minnesota eviction moratorium is more comprehensive. And so as the, it supersedes the federal, but the state of Minnesota is paired with the governors, uh, state of emergency. And so it has continued with each, uh, renewal of the state of emergency.
Speaker 1 00:34:39 And certainly, um, we're seeing cases rise. So the idea that if it ends federally this month, we sorely need something to be reenacted dated or something.
Speaker 2 00:34:53 Yeah, we certainly do. I watch the news every day. I'm sure that we all are in hopes that some additional, uh, you know, both at the state and federal level is where we may have the opportunity to see more resources come through. We are standing by if we had more housing assistance to help households, we would absolutely, um, mobilizing and work on getting that out the door.
Speaker 1 00:35:15 How have you had to change how housing services are being delivered because of COVID-19?
Speaker 3 00:35:24 Yeah, this is Gertrude. Um, so since the pandemic began, um, we have really worked closely with housing providers across the state to make it easier for them provide critical services. Um, and so the state has invested really significant amounts of money, um, to make this possible. There was a $5.5 million, uh, appropriation to increase housing support payments this spring. And this helped over 20,000 adults keep their housing. Um, there was another 26 million appropriation too, that helped with homeless shelters to help them respond to the pandemic. And the other thing that, um, we did was to temporary the lift paperwork, which we viewed as burdensome and make it easier for people in sudden financial crisis to get assistance without having to go to their County or tribal office in person. And so, uh, these are some of the things that we're doing on our end too, because we are on once again on that income support side to make the services, housing services available to people in a safe way.
Speaker 1 00:36:49 I want to know, I mean, obviously we're talking about Minnesota, but housing needs are rampant in all States. And I think right now we've been kind of focusing on, um, Minnesota, as I said, but I presume that housing types are different from state to state. The money that's allocated for assistance is different from state to state. Is there a place where people can go in each state to find out the different housing that's available to them, the different, um, assistance that can be allocated to their housing needs? How do they even go about knowing where to go?
Speaker 2 00:37:33 Yeah, this is Rachel and Sam. Those are all really good questions. Before I launch in, I keep forgetting to say some of these websites. We want to make sure we get those websites out in the community. Um, households who are in a housing search or navigating a housing search. Um, I have three websites, but they can always call or go to United way. It's United way's two, one one. So you call two, one, one on your phone, and that's a great place to start. There's also a really good website, uh, partner of ours, uh, housing link. So housing link.org, where they have a lot of information, really great information on how to navigate, um, housing search, as well as an actual housing search opportunity. And particularly in this pandemic, if you're navigating as a homeowner, um, and have any concern about making payments, there's an organization called home ownership center and their website is H O C M n.org.
Speaker 2 00:38:28 So getting those out of the way, this is where I think Gertrude and I both plan to brag a little about Minnesota, but we also don't want to minimize the work that we have to do to have true housing choice and housing options that work for everyone, but Minnesota, like all States administer some federal programs, but we have pretty considerable flexibility and freedom to apply a policy lens, uh, to meet our unique needs as a state and our local partners have that same opportunity. So in Minnesota, we do it really, really well. Um, we have strong organizations, strong housing systems, nonprofit providers, um, for-profit providers. We have very good systems and a state government that continues to invest in housing in a way that's really unprecedented compared to other States. I've worked in other States as a housing developer. And so I can really brag, um, on, in a bar, excuse me, bipartisan way, Minnesota housing's legislature has added investments over and above the federal government.
Speaker 2 00:39:33 We really don't see a parallel in other States this year in the middle of everything we're facing in 2020, the state of Minnesota legislature authorized $116 million of state funds to go towards the production and preservation, you know, wow. Of affordable housing. That includes a little bit of public housing as well. And they have done that consistently for decades is add state appropriated dollars. And we have something called housing, housing, infrastructure, bonds, which are really, really special in Minnesota. And on the service side or the, um, support side, we have something called generically housing support, but housing support is, um, sort of like a voucher program for supportive housing that the state has also included in our resources for making supportive housing developments in particular really work. So we've been fortunate to have that as well.
Speaker 1 00:40:30 Um, yeah, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I just want to confirm the, the things you gave like United way and the other two, um, work for all other States as well.
Speaker 2 00:40:41 No, these are housing link is a Minnesota organization, home ownership centers in Minnesota organization. There are some really excellent, I mean, if anyone wants to deep dive there's national low income housing coalition, um, if you're a Twitter person, you can really get deep housing policy is a pretty broad, um, break coalitions across the country. Um, and housing needs are, are justice serious in rural communities, city communities, other States, our neighboring States, Texas. I mean, it it's, um, we're lucky in Minnesota have some really good consolidated systems. Um, but housing needs are, are really universal. Unfortunately
Speaker 1 00:41:23 I understand, you know, you're talking about how good our housing is, and I think it is probably, as you say, one of the top, you know, housing for affordable income and stuff, but there is still such a huge need. I know people who've been sitting out there for a couple of years still waiting. Um, tell me how they intend to deal with the shortage of housing.
Speaker 2 00:41:52 Yeah, this is Rachel again, and I'll, um, go a bit more on some of the detail and statistics around the need for affordable housing. Um, we, unfortunately though it is really good to see the local and national conversation, um, emphasizing housing and housing needs. We have some harsh statistics. Um, there are, I mentioned earlier 100,000 renter households who are very low income with a person with a disability and another 80,000 on top of that. So for a total of 180,000, um, renter households who are very low income and we there's a supply demand issue, we do not have enough units and the private market does not provide for every one of those households to have affordable housing to them. And you can imagine what that means for somebody who is looking for housing. It means waits for the few subsidized developments that have enough housing.
Speaker 2 00:42:46 It means waits. It means closed waiting lists. Um, and that is very, very real. And we empathize with that experience for a lot of people looking for housing and only one in five households, that's kind of a general statistic, but only one in five who it should be eligible for a housing voucher will get access to one. And another really tough statistic is that, um, about 40% of those households who win a housing voucher and get access to a housing voucher, 40% of them will turn it back because they're unable to find a landlord who will take it. So that's hard. Um, and I was looking for a way to say, say something a little bit more optimistic coming out of that. Um, but that that's the reality. We really need to keep pushing advocacy for resources, because our way out of this is housing is supply of housing that works for people. It is.
Speaker 1 00:43:42 I mean, is there any idea of what the plan is out there to address the shortage? I mean, it feels like they need to build more affordable housing. How often is this being done? It feels like there's not a whole lot being done.
Speaker 2 00:43:57 Yeah. We, you know, again, in Minnesota we just are launching today. It's December 10th when we're talking and we will have our annual awards to mission-oriented developers going out to build and preserve housing. And we are having a huge year, despite all the pandemic concerns our partners put in, um, hundreds of millions of dollars worth of housing development activity. And we are funding quite a lot of that. So, um, we will be releasing a lot of that information today to the public and, um, that's, that's good news. We are increasing our investments every year in housing. We have really good data that shows what the need is and what we need to do to get there and, uh, drive among our public officials. Again, bipartisan in our state government. Everyone agrees that there's a housing need across the state, uh, to put some investments in federal would be great, but we're really working hard in Minnesota as a state to build and preserve team level local, the cities, um, including suburban cities in the twin cities and across greater Minnesota, um, create trust funds or redirect a little bit of money here and there to create and preserve housing.
Speaker 2 00:45:12 And while that might be incremental, it's really important. And actually does some really great work.
Speaker 1 00:45:26 There's so much to cover here. I'm embarrassed to say I will not get through all of the things that I wanted to in this. Um, this probably could have been a two hour program. Uh, I want to ask about, you know, when someone signs up for housing, it feels like they're kind of separated with counties, like counties have different rules. So if you sign up in one County, but you know, you want to live in another County, does it cover all counties or do you have to be actually live in that County to sign up to tag, get housing in that County? How does this work?
Speaker 3 00:46:07 Yeah. Okay. I'll, I'll take that later. I'll start off. It depends on what type of housing you live in and how it is funded. So there are many housing programs out there, so it just depends. For example, if you have a HUD section eight voucher and move from one apartment to another, you might be able to take it with you. If you get housing assistance from one of our state income programs, such as housing support or Minnesota supplemental aid, you could qualify if you move from one County to the next. So it's, it depends part of it. And so in many of these cases, if it relates to moving from one County to another County staff are really, really good at helping people determine what's possible. Go ahead, Rachel.
Speaker 2 00:46:56 Yeah. I was going to, um, pair that with what Gertrude had to say and just that we, uh, certainly there are some programs that are portable, but a lot of that housing navigation and that housing search is put on the individual in any, um, wraparound services that they have. We recognize that housing is fixed. It's a place, you know, so you live in a place and we do emphasize housing choice in a lot of design of programs. Um, we've learned a lot about housing choice. We want people to be able to live where they want to live in a housing that meets their needs. And so that is certainly part of program design, but, um, a lot of these institutions and systems have been around for so long that, um, there is quite a bit of navigation to be done.
Speaker 1 00:47:39 So, so if I'm in Hennepin County, but want to live in a NOCCA, how do I do that? I have to sign up or I have to be living in a NOCCA or I'm sorry, I guess I, yeah.
Speaker 2 00:47:57 So on this question, I think counties are a big part of our social service system. They don't directly provide a lot of the housing. And, um, so there, there are some location determinants that do matter in housing search. And so, especially if you are given access to a voucher, um, you have to use that in the community that issued the voucher for at least I think it's about a year before you can leave. Um, but I think that everything that falls within Gertrude Gertrude's area, excuse me, around supportive services is also critical to understand because people live where you live, determines so much else in your life. Um, social connections, where you shop, where you get your healthcare, um, where kids go to school, uh, how long you have to drive to do all the things that you need to do, whether there's even transportation available. And so, uh, you know, it is a huge thing to move from one community to another and change. Um, all of that makes you see the flip side more often as being concerning, which is that people lose access to their affordable housing in the community where they have roots and that disruption, um, for people in changing their medical care change in their, um, where they shop and what they do on a daily basis, it's actually really disruptive. Right?
Speaker 1 00:49:18 What would be some of the reasons why they would lose that housing?
Speaker 2 00:49:24 Yeah. Unless someone is in an income supported or a subsidized development rent can go up and unless it's funded with one of the programs we work with, um, unfortunately rent increases have been one of the big reasons why people become cost-burdened or they're just paying so much for housing. It doesn't leave enough leftover for all of their other needs. Um, and so that, that's a big reason why we see a disruption in housing stability.
Speaker 1 00:49:54 Uh, can you talk a little bit about what a case manager is and what their tasks are like, how do they help somebody who's looking for housing?
Speaker 3 00:50:06 So case managers, um, are really important, particularly when we are talking about people, older adults and people with disability, because their core case managers are really there to walk alongside individuals who need a little bit of support. And what they do is they provide person and culturally responsive information, resources, and monitoring to help, you know, to really help people and families to access the supports that they need. Um, and this is really the research really indicates that case managers really make a big difference because, um, they walk alongside someone for as long as they need.
Speaker 1 00:50:52 Okay. And is everyone who has, is applying for affordable housing, able to get a case manager?
Speaker 3 00:51:05 You know, I actually don't know the answer to that question. Um, I do know that, um, folks that are on medical assistance do qualify, uh, depending on their needs. So the needs really drive what somebody ended up getting. Um, and I think that's really kind of like the core at the core of how somebody accesses those services.
Speaker 1 00:51:37 So, um, I want to make sure you guys get time to address anything else you want to in the last little bit of the program. Uh, is there any, um, obviously we're, we're going to miss some questions, but are there any big issues or things out there that you want people to know about that I have not addressed in the last five minutes or so?
Speaker 2 00:52:03 Yeah, this is Rachel. We do hope that people, um, access the websites and the resources that are out there, um, especially to look for help as we get into these long months of the pandemic. Um, if you are struggling with, uh, housing payments, with a housing search to reach out, um, call two, one, one, or reach out to United way housing link.org homeownership center, um, which is H O C M n.org. Uh, we really do want to make sure that any resources that we know are out there that you have access to them. Um, because we do not want to see anyone lose housing, who has it, or be unable to find it who needs it.
Speaker 3 00:52:45 And then, uh, I was just going to say that I just want, uh, folks out there to know that Minnesota has a wide array of housing options for people with disabilities. And here at DHS, our goal is really, um, to provide people with disabilities, with the opportunity to choose where they live, work, and play. And we understand that it can be hard to sort through all the options. And that's the reason why we have the disability hub with people, uh, are ready to help. And it's once again, that website is www that disability hub that MN, uh, at hub mn.org, or they
Speaker 2 00:53:26 Can call +1 866-323-2466.
Speaker 1 00:53:33 I'm wondering what the most common question that people have asked you, either one of you about affordable housing that they don't know.
Speaker 2 00:53:46 Yeah. Thanks for that question, Sam. This is Rachel. And the number one question that I get is, unfortunately for me not please explain all these acronyms about housing. Cause I can do that all day, but is, um, from my friends, my family and friends on behalf of their family, how do I find housing when they have just started? I think they experience a lot of what you've talked about today in our, on our short program is just that it's kind of hard. It's kind of hard when you start with acronyms and try to get to a place to live. It is not super easy to navigate. And so I do get asked by people who say, you know, you do some housing thing, right? Um, how do you want to get it? And um, so you're not alone. If you're starting to look into a housing search and are wondering how you're supposed to navigate this. Um, and we really hope that some of these websites and some of these resources will help me get started.
Speaker 1 00:54:42 Um, is there a reason why section eight stays closed so long? Is it going to reopen it? I know it was open for a short time. I think, I think it's closed again. Is that correct? And are they planning on reopening? How often do they do that?
Speaker 2 00:55:01 Yeah, so these, the section eight or housing choice vouchers are administered by local governments. And we have quite a few in the twin cities, city and regional County. Um, and then across the state, there are quite a lot of housing authorities as well. And every once in awhile, those lists will open and they opened for a pretty brief amount of time. And then they closed. I do recommend that people get on the contact list, um, go to housing, link.org and find each of the public housing authorities. That's within reason for you and look and get on their list. So you are at least notified and know when those lists open. Um, unfortunately they, they open and they close pretty quickly after, and then there's a wait, um, sometimes a lottery to get on a list to wait on a list. Um, so it, it's simply a lack of sufficient funding to have enough resources for everyone who needs it.
Speaker 1 00:55:55 And section eight, does that, is that income-based as well? Or is it that it just covers a certain percentage and that's it regardless of the house, the rent,
Speaker 2 00:56:08 Yeah. It's um, actually a really well-designed program for those who can get it because the section eight voucher you can take to any unit that's within a reasonable price range. So, um, it, you know, you take that and then the household pays 30% of their income and the section eight voucher pays the rest income goes up, your contribution goes up, income goes down, your contribution goes down as a household. And, uh, it's so it's a very, very good program for people who are low income and can work for a four bedroom unit, a studio, um, as long as there are enough resources in the program to get everyone which obviously there's not. And then units out there that are within reason or a moderate cost that households can go and use that voucher.
Speaker 1 00:56:53 I'd like to thank you both very much for being on the show. This is much appreciated. And I still feel like I'm a little bit swimming and amazed, but hopefully people have understood a little bit and they'll go to those websites. And, um, I, if you, if there's any way I can get a, um, website of a, um, more, you know, global, like in the United States, like where different States would go, that'd be great if you can just email me. But um, if people have any questions, I encourage them to email me and, um, I would try to pass those questions on to you guys if that's okay.
Speaker 2 00:57:35 Yeah, absolutely. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be here.
Speaker 1 00:57:39 Yeah. Thank you. Again, this has been disability and progress. The views expressed on the show are not necessarily those of KPI or its board of directors. My name is Sam. I'm the host of the show. Thanks so much for tuning in Charlene dolls. My research team, we've been speaking with department of human services, assistant commissioner, Gertrude <inaudible> and Rachel Robinson, who is a deputy commissioner for Minnesota housing. This is cafe 90.3 FM Minneapolis. Okay. If you had that org, if you want to be on my emailing list, you may email
[email protected]. Thanks so much for listening.
Speaker 0 00:58:24 <inaudible>.
