How the collaborative celebrated wins and prepared for another year of action
2024 Congregation Convening recap. Written by Dylan Novacek, Content Specialist
“The question of housing is a moral one,” stated Beacon President and CEO Chris LaTondresse at our 2024 Congregation Convening. “Will we be a community where everyone has a home, where everyone can have the dignity, safety, and future rooted in home? We’re here tonight because we believe Minnesota MUST be such a community.”
On January 18, hundreds of members from our collaborative gathered at two sites, Richfield United Methodist Church and Waconia Moravian Church, for our annual Congregation Convening. With a buzz in the air, our collaborative celebrated the ways we showed up for home this previous year, discovered new ways to take action, and got fired up for what comes next.
“The cheapest place to spend the night is in your own home with the services you need brought to your door. And that’s what supportive housing is,” shared YouthLink’s Mark Miller, the Program Supervisor at Nicollet Square, youth supportive housing from Beacon. “That’s the responsible thing to do, and the best investment of tax dollars.”
During this event, Beacon’s President and CEO Chris LaTondresse sat down with Mark Miller, and Nicollet Square resident Iyanna, to learn more about the impact of supportive housing, as well as the challenges we’re all facing within Minnesota’s housing crisis.
“Youth right now all have a unique story, and we all have unique factors,” Iyanna said. “If I didn’t move to Nicollet Square, I don’t know where I would be. It helped keep me on a better path so I can refocus myself. And I know there a lot of people out there who need that kind of supportive housing. It shouldn’t be a heavy lift to help people have a place to stay.”
As our collaborative grounded ourselves in the reality of this work, we learned the ways we can take action in the new year. Hearing from elected officials Representative Michael Howard, Senator Lindsey Port, Representative Emma Greenman, and Senator Zaynab Mohamed, the energy for this year’s legislative session and Bring it Home, Minnesota began to rise.
Following a great lineup of speakers, attendees were invited to take part in workshops ranging from learning more about supportive housing, engaging in policy, and learning the basics about Beacon. Through these workshops, the collaborative learned about solutions, developed their skills, and learned how they can take meaningful action in 2024.
With the power of the collaborative, we can see that all people have a home. In 2023 alone, we moved mountains. Watch this special video to learn more about what we won last year and see how you can help us change the landscape of home:
Beacon would like to thank everyone for joining us at this year’s convening. Additionally, we’d like to give a huge shoutout to Richfield United Methodist Church for hosting, elected officials for coming to speak, Iyanna and Mark for sharing their stories, Madeleine Hammerlund from Our Future Starts at Home, and Rev. Lisa Friedman for being our emcee.
Will you continue showing up for home in 2024? Join us on February 20 at the Minnesota State Capitol for the Start with Home Rally. Click here to register and learn more. To learn more ways your congregation can get involved email Emily at egoldthwaite@beaconinterfaith.org.
