Greater Minnesota Housing Fund
Report date
December 2021
What has been most instrumental to your progress?
The recruitment and identification of Regional Advisors was the most instrumental component of our work over the past two years has been the intentional investing in the leadership of people with direct lived experience with homelessness and housing instability to shape and direct the work ahead.
Transformative outcomes require transformative processes – and while we are still learning and striving to do better every day, there has been real progress in the work of centering, and then following, the collective direction of those most directly impacted by the systems we aim to transform.
The Regional Advisors have now named themselves the 'SHIP Collective' (Supportive Housing is the Priority), and recently launched the 'Regional Kitchen Table' - with all seven counties, two state agencies, three HUD 'Continuum of Care' coordinators, and philanthropy. This will be the vehicle for the work moving forward, and people will lived experience with homelessness will be leading the way.
Transformative outcomes require transformative processes – and while we are still learning and striving to do better every day, there has been real progress in the work of centering, and then following, the collective direction of those most directly impacted by the systems we aim to transform.
The Regional Advisors have now named themselves the 'SHIP Collective' (Supportive Housing is the Priority), and recently launched the 'Regional Kitchen Table' - with all seven counties, two state agencies, three HUD 'Continuum of Care' coordinators, and philanthropy. This will be the vehicle for the work moving forward, and people will lived experience with homelessness will be leading the way.
Engaging in a systems audit to map the current regional response to preventing and ending homelessness. This work was done differently than most, in that it did not start with the those seen as traditional leaders in the field and within the system, but with those who have experienced the system themselves - including both those who have sought assistance from the system themselves, or front-line workers who are rarely consulted in systems conversations despite being the ones carrying out often inefficient, ineffective - and at times - inhumane policies and processes that make up our current 'system.'
The audit focused on three key areas:
1) Lacking a Regional Vision and Shared Goals to Prevent and End Homelessness
2) Human Services Access and Navigation Across Counties
3) Siloed Continuum of Care Priorities and Coordinated Entry Systems
Read more on each of these areas under the 'Audit Findings' section of our Blueprint findings derived to-date through this initiative: https://twincitiesastg.netlify.app/audit-findings/
The audit focused on three key areas:
1) Lacking a Regional Vision and Shared Goals to Prevent and End Homelessness
2) Human Services Access and Navigation Across Counties
3) Siloed Continuum of Care Priorities and Coordinated Entry Systems
Read more on each of these areas under the 'Audit Findings' section of our Blueprint findings derived to-date through this initiative: https://twincitiesastg.netlify.app/audit-findings/
The third phase of the work of this grant term focused on surfacing proposed actions to begin addressing the barriers identified in the system's audit, with an end goal of making tangible progress toward housing justice in the region.
The three proposals are:
1) Build a Regional Kitchen Table
2) Begin Aligning Housing Resources Across the Region
3) Improve Access to and Navigation of Human Services Across the Region
To read further detail on each of these proposals, visit the 'Proposed Actions' section of the Blueprint report that emerged from the efforts during this grant term. https://twincitiesastg.netlify.app/proposed-actions/
The three proposals are:
1) Build a Regional Kitchen Table
2) Begin Aligning Housing Resources Across the Region
3) Improve Access to and Navigation of Human Services Across the Region
To read further detail on each of these proposals, visit the 'Proposed Actions' section of the Blueprint report that emerged from the efforts during this grant term. https://twincitiesastg.netlify.app/proposed-actions/
Key lessons learned
Transformational change is based in establishing deep relationships across all stakeholders - people with lived experience, governmental leaders, and community-based organizations. These relationships take time, and the work cannot move faster than the speed of trust.
In order to authentically collaborate with people with lived experience governmental leaders, funders, and community-based organizations must be willing to shift true decision-making power to people with lived experience
There is a need to shift the paradigm in addressing homelessness to one that includes prevention - everything from developing affordable housing to tenant rights.
Reflections on the community innovation process
The community processes that were most important to the work to this point are 'Inclusive' and 'Collaborative.'
The Community Innovation Process Diagram reflects the process and approach we have been, and will continue to follow as we move forward in this work of building regional approaches to housing justice in Minnesota.
The Community Innovation Process Diagram reflects the process and approach we have been, and will continue to follow as we move forward in this work of building regional approaches to housing justice in Minnesota.
Progress toward an innovation
The pandemic shut down the state just couple months into this grant term and certainly disrupted original timelines and plans. The challenges inherent to learning how to do community-based social change work while largely relegated to building relationships and moving the work forward via video conferencing has not been ideal. Structural change work is rarely quick or easy - and like so many things, the ripple effects of a pandemic compound that reality.
And, that being said, we are closer now - much closer - to achieving an innovation in both process and outcome through this work. The (Regional Kitchen) table has been set, the guests (7 counties, the state, CoC's, & philanthropy) have been extended and have accepted an invitation by the 15 members of the SHIP Collective, who are bringing they type of clarity, urgency, and lived expertise that has so often led to enormous advances in our nations' social and economic strides.
Throughout 2022, we will see what happens at the table, and certainly nothing is promised - and we know none of it will come easily. But through the leadership of the SHIP Collective and the engagement of many others, we could achieve a true breakthrough.
And, that being said, we are closer now - much closer - to achieving an innovation in both process and outcome through this work. The (Regional Kitchen) table has been set, the guests (7 counties, the state, CoC's, & philanthropy) have been extended and have accepted an invitation by the 15 members of the SHIP Collective, who are bringing they type of clarity, urgency, and lived expertise that has so often led to enormous advances in our nations' social and economic strides.
Throughout 2022, we will see what happens at the table, and certainly nothing is promised - and we know none of it will come easily. But through the leadership of the SHIP Collective and the engagement of many others, we could achieve a true breakthrough.
What it will take to reach an innovation?
The work detailed in the 'Proposed Actions' will be the first test of progress in the work ahead (https://twincitiesastg.netlify.app/proposed-actions/).
This will be highly emergent work that will require deep analysis, along with much flexibility and creativity to follow the path as both new roadblocks and opportunities emerge. As the Community Innovation Process Diagram states well, 'this is not a linear process.' We will continue to be rooted in our core values, pursue the approaches and a theory of change that we believe to be both the right and the smart way forward. We'll maintain a stance of humble, continuous learning, particularly around being accountable to doing this work with an explicit racial equity lens and always improving at truly centering those most directly impacted - and being willing to transform both power dynamics and ourselves through this work. If we are truly to reach a tangible breakthrough in this work, it will require all of this and more.
This will be highly emergent work that will require deep analysis, along with much flexibility and creativity to follow the path as both new roadblocks and opportunities emerge. As the Community Innovation Process Diagram states well, 'this is not a linear process.' We will continue to be rooted in our core values, pursue the approaches and a theory of change that we believe to be both the right and the smart way forward. We'll maintain a stance of humble, continuous learning, particularly around being accountable to doing this work with an explicit racial equity lens and always improving at truly centering those most directly impacted - and being willing to transform both power dynamics and ourselves through this work. If we are truly to reach a tangible breakthrough in this work, it will require all of this and more.
What's next?
For the Twin Cities Regionalization work, the 'Proposed Actions' section of the Blueprint is the best guide for our work in 2022. However, we have found this process to be promising enough that we are also intending to explore similar processes to organize and surface regional approaches in several greater Minnesota regional communities in the year ahead.
Each region faces its own unique context, culture, realities, challenges, and priorities. A regional approaches rooted in shared values and vision to advance housing and racial justice could be both homegrown and connect with other regional centers to coordinate and engage in state-level housing systems transformation work.
Each region faces its own unique context, culture, realities, challenges, and priorities. A regional approaches rooted in shared values and vision to advance housing and racial justice could be both homegrown and connect with other regional centers to coordinate and engage in state-level housing systems transformation work.
If you could do it all over again...
Build in more time than you could ever imagine needing to listen, learn, build connections, over-communicate with stakeholders, and establish both the trust and a sense of shared possibility. This all makes for the fertile soil necessary for the seeds of transformation to have any chance of being cultivated into a living product.
One last thought
Thank you for the investment in our work to this point, and we look forward to finding new ways to collaborate as we continue on.