Around seven years ago, as our community saw a rise in families experiencing homelessness, Beacon boldly stepped into the gap and created a plan to add more than 200 units of family-supportive housing in the Twin Cities. We did this knowing that to create supportive housing; we would need a new funding source to pay for the services offered. As we built new homes for families, we also advocated for solutions to address the state funding gap. In 2023, we focused our strategy to start a new state grant program that funds services specifically for families living in supportive housing.
After Beacon advocates sent thousands of emails, made hundreds of legislative visits, and Beacon residents gave powerful testimonies, a new $750,000 state grant program was created and funded this year!
Together, we have achieved a victory!
In a year when the state budget was tight, many did not believe that this was possible. Some insiders told us it was foolish to try this year, to not even ask for the funding. But we knew families in supportive housing could not wait and that together we could accomplish the impossible. Our faith and values do not allow us to stop. I hope you feel the importance of this accomplishment and remain energized to continue the work. We could not have done it without you.
We are grateful to Rep. Liz Reyer and Sen. Liz Boldon for authoring and championing the bill. We are also grateful to the Health and Human Services Chairs, Sen. Melissa Wiklund, Rep. Mohamud Noor, and Rep. Joe Schomacker, who prioritized it at the end. Click below to send a thank you email to thank our legislators for their hard work in making this happen.
Thank you for everything you have done! This win shows the power of our collaborative!
