A home that's reasonably priced, safe, and sustainable should be within reach for anyone.
That's the statement that brought together more than 800 attendees, from high-ranking public officials to low-income residents, at the Nov. 8
"Homes for All" conference at the St. Paul RiverCentre.
Among the event's highlights was a keynote speech by U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, a how-to workshop about making changes for the greener around the house, and an audiovisual exhibit featuring an oral history of homelessness.
Emmy-Award-winning actor and vocalist T. Mychael Rambo led a breakout session, while representatives from more than 40 housing, health, and financial organizations were on hand, as were U.S. representatives Keith Ellison and Betty McCollum and senators Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar.
Chip Halbach, the executive director of the
Minnesota Housing Partnership, says that he and other advocates hope the get-together will influence housing policy for the better, especially as the state's political leadership turns over and the legislative session nears.
"It's important to get people energized and thinking about what the state can do come January," Halbach says. His goal is to lay the groundwork for various housing-related bill proposals that will be introduced this session, and which he says deserve special attention in a budget-cycle year,
The challenges are many. Homelessness has spiked in the recession, and this has produced all kinds of side effects, he explains. "We have a situation where more people are losing homes and renters are paying a higher percentage of their income for housing." Recent U.S. census figures show that one in eight families in Minnesota are facing severe housing situations, he says.
There may be greater need and fewer resources these days, but he insists, "It's moral issues that are at stake."
Source: Chip Halbach, executive director of the Minnesota Housing Partnership
Writer: Anna Pratt