Changing the landscape of home: Convening recap
2022 Congregation Convening recap. Written by Dylan Novacek, Content Specialist.
“There aren’t a lot of spaces where dozens of congregations, people from so many walks of faith, can come together around a shared vision. Beacon is one of those spaces,” Javen Swanson of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church remarked, pictured. “There’s a lot of power for home here tonight. Power for creating the world we want to live in. One where all people have a home.”
On December 1, 2022, over 200 members of our collaborative came together, both in person and over Zoom, for Beacon’s Congregational Convening at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Saint Paul. Together we celebrated the successes of the last five years and learned the ways we can take action for the solutions that will help advance our shared Beacon vision in the coming years.
“Beacon is an organization that lives their vision out loud and makes a profound impact on our community,” exclaimed Mark Bayley, Beacon board member, and a congregant from Wayzata Community Church.
The impact we’ve made together is worth celebrating. From over 150 new homes created in the last five years at buildings like Cranberry Ridge and Lydia, to the funding of 430 new and rehabbed homes- 135 of which are for families coming out of homelessness, Beacon has become the leading developer of supportive housing in the metro.
At our Congregational Convening, Beacon’s new 5-year strategic plan was presented. Our collaborative learned how we’ll be working together to change the landscape of home by creating new, deeply affordable homes, investing in our residents by providing wraparound services, and championing transformative policy solutions.
Feeling energized by the road ahead, attendees held up signs of support and cheered.
“We’re powerful together,” rang the audience at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church.
“We’re called to leave this world better than we found it,” reflected Rev. Michael Gonzales, Beacon board member and clergy at Wayman African Methodist Episcopal Church. “One of the best ways to do that is to ensure we have affordable housing.”
Led by our many faith values, we’re a collaborative of 100+ congregations who are committed to housing justice. Learning what we can do to win the solutions needed to see that all people have a home, attendees received a humorous visual of the three buckets we need to fill to make it happen: capital, rental assistance, and services, pictured. Together we’re working to increase public funding to get each of these buckets filled.
One way we’re doing this is through our new project-based voucher campaign, Unlock the Metro. Project-based vouchers are the keys that unlock housing equity, because they are necessary to secure financing to build new deeply affordable housing.
We’re calling on the Met Council to deploy project-based vouchers strategically to expedite the development of deeply affordable housing in suburban communities across the metro.
Maplewood City Council member Nikki Villavicencio, a strong supporter of Beacon and our Unlock the Metro campaign, spoke at our Congregational Convening to share why we need transformative solutions for home. As a disabled individual who uses a wheelchair, she shared how vital it is to have deeply affordable, supportive housing in every community for all people.
“Home is where the heart is,” Nikki said, pictured. “In order to decrease homelessness for all of us, we need to have housing that’s sustainable with supportive services!”
While every Beacon gathering shows the power we have together, this moment feels especially exciting for us. The 2023 legislative session presents one of the greatest opportunities in our lifetime to transform the landscape of home.
In the 2022 elections, voters placed leaders who are committed to housing justice in control of the Minnesota Senate, House of Representatives, and Governor’s office. This is a pivotal moment for us as a collaborative to build power for our policy agenda, including Bring it Home, Minnesota, a rent subsidy bill that will ensure all Minnesotans get the rent support they deserve.
There are so many ways to get involved with us. Key events to show up at include our Start with Home Rally for Housing at the Capitol on January 11, and our Week of Action at the Capitol in March. For more information on the ways you can get involved with us, contact Emily Goldthwaite.
As the night drew to a close, music played and the room was abuzz. With an exciting road ahead, we have a phenomenal opportunity to change the landscape of home in 2023. The entire night served as a reminder of the power we have when we work together.
“Power is the ability to create the world we want to live in,” Javen Swanson continued. “We are the people who want to have power to create a world where all people have a home. We have a vision of a world that is better than it is now…Coming together, we’re more powerful than the sum of our parts!”
We invite you to join us as we change the landscape of home. Click here to get involved and click here to read more about the opportunity we have in front of us to win the solutions needed to see that all people have a home.
