Building a City for All of Us
Written by Dylan Novacek, Content Specialist.
“We’re here tonight because we love this city,” Pastor Meta Herrick Carlson exclaimed as she spoke to a packed sanctuary at Bethlehem Lutheran Church Twin Cities. “Together we’ve got a lot of faith and power.”
On July 28, over 180 individuals from at least 24 Beacon congregations joined us at our ‘Building a City for All of Us’ event. Together, we raised our voices in support of creating more deeply affordable homes in the city of Minneapolis. Throughout the night we heard the stories of how housing insecurity impacts our communities and had discussions about the solutions we need in order to see that all people have a home.
According to the Minneapolis Area Realtors, the median advertised rent in Minneapolis has risen almost 17% overall since this time last year. This housing crisis is felt statewide as 550,000 Minnesotans with low incomes cannot afford their homes and are experiencing housing insecurity. Stories from individuals like Theresa Dolata help illuminate the need for more affordable housing.
“Every year my rent goes up and I now pay almost $1,200 a month for housing. That is most of my disability check. Due to my physical health issues, I cannot be without housing. Rent has always got to come first every single month,” Theresa asserted. “My story illustrates that there isn’t just one solution, but a continuum. Our community needs more just housing policies locally and statewide.”
“Because of one crisis or one medical intervention, you could easily lose the housing you once could afford,” said an interfaith organization of 17 Minneapolis churches, synagogues, and mosques and people with lived experiences working together to address homelessness and poverty. As allies in this work, we invited leaders from their organization to speak at the event.
“People are resourceful and work hard to get help. But should it be that hard? Or should we as a community ensure that housing is affordable?” Katie Dillion from Align MPLS continued, “When we work with people who need assistance getting caught up on back-due rent at Align MPLS, we bear witness to people who are on the razor’s edge of housing insecurity and have an incredibly difficult time getting ahead.”
The problem in Minneapolis is that most renters who are paying more than they can afford earn around 30% of the Area Median Income (AMI) – that’s about $31,000 for a family of four. Most homes being developed, even with city funds, are out of reach for households with low incomes.
As a collaborative of faith communities who believe in home, we know how important it is to take action. To build a Minneapolis for all of us, we know the Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF) should be increased to address rising costs for construction, and become more focused on building homes for people with the lowest incomes. To build a state for all of us we also affirm the need for Bring it Home, Minnesota – a bold policy solution that will ensure every Minnesotan gets the rent support they deserve.
“The beautiful part about our city is that we all belong here,” reflected Rev. Deanna Kim Bassett from Christ the River of Life Lutheran Church in North Minneapolis. “All God’s children belong in a city right next door to each other.…This is what we’re trying to say here as we move towards affordable housing.”
There was tremendous energy in the room as people from across different faith traditions and congregations discussed the importance of home. Everyone in attendance was asked to draw an image or write a word that says what ‘home’ means to them.
Among the responses were drawings of family, plants, beds, and words like ‘hope,’ ‘love and peace,’ and ‘stability.’
These reflections were posted onto a large card we have delivered to the Mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey. We urged him to increase the Affordable Housing Trust Fund budget in order to keep up with the rising costs of housing development, and to lead the city in making a commitment to targeting the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to create more homes affordable at 30% AMI.
“We believe the AHTF to be one of the city’s most powerful tools for creating homes for residents with the lowest incomes who are otherwise often left out of new development,” explains Beacon organizer Rev. Emily Goldthwaite Fries. “AHTF awards have contributed to the creation of Beacon’s supportive housing, most recently Bimosedaa, Lydia Apartments and Emerson Village. The Mayor’s leadership and partnership on this has resulted in great progress, and we are encouraging him to ensure the focus on 30% AMI becomes a lasting legacy.”
Beacon leaders and staff held a very positive meeting with Mayor Frey following the event. We are grateful he affirmed his strong commitment to home, to dedicating resources to people with the greatest need, and to working together on furthering the progress of the last several years to create deeply affordable housing in Minneapolis. (Pictured, our meeting with Mayor Jacob Frey.)
Thank you to everyone who showed up and took action with us. We’re building power as communities of faith to encourage our elected officials to make a commitment to home. We invite you to continue building power with us.
Join us for a conversation with Minnesota gubernatorial candidates on September 13 and demonstrate your support for the bold solutions needed to see that all people have a home. Click here to register and learn more.
