Beacon Interfaith

Building Home: What It Takes (Virtual Workshop)
2020-05-26 18:00 - 19:30 (America/Chicago) | Christ Presbyterian Church, 6901 Normandale Rd, Edina, MN, 55435, United States
An introduction to Beacon’s work to develop affordable homes. Explore the reasons homelessness exists, learn about the buckets of funding needed to create affordable homes, the housing development cycle and why we can’t build our way out of the problem of homelessness.
For donors, members of Beacon congregations and members of prospective congregations.
Instructions for how to join us online will be in your registration confirmation email.

Rent is Due: Day of Action
2020-06-01 08:30
Thank you for joining together to take action for home. We are excited to join with you in this virtual action on Monday, June 1.
Please register to commit to:
-Joining together for a thirty-minute update video call at 8:30 a.m.
-Calling your legislator during the day and reporting on it through an easy online form
-Joining, if you can, a debrief call at 4:30 p.m.
Register below, and we will send you an email with the links to the two meetings. On June 1, we will send you an email with a “how-to” to call your legislators, a sample script, and an easy online reporting form.

Prairie Pointe: City Council Vote - 6/2/20
2020-06-02 19:00 | Shakopee City Hall, 485 Gorman St, Shakopee, 55379, United States
Show up for Prairie Pointe at the crucial city council vote!
You are encouraged to join us either in person or on a virtual event. Our first priority is to keep everyone safe.
If you’re joining us in person:

You must wear a face mask;
Please keep a distance of at least 6 feet between you and other participants;
Please wear RED and consider creating a sign to demonstrate your support;
There will be an outdoor rally beginning at 6:30 p.m. which will include details on how the evening will run.

If you’re joining us virtually, there will be a link to login included in your confirmation email.
For more information, please call Justin Lewandowski at (320) 250-6630 or email him.
Thank you for registering and inviting others – especially Shakopee residents! – to join you.

Jim Crow of the North Discussion
2020-06-16 17:00 - 18:30
George Floyd was killed by a police officer in the Central neighborhood, one of the historically redlined neighborhoods of South Minneapolis. The Mapping Prejudice project at the University of Minnesota has uncovered thousands of racial covenants on properties around Minneapolis and beyond which actually created the map used to exclude Black families from home ownership while investing in the wealth of white families. In spite of many changes, Minnesota still has some of the widest racial disparities in the nation and patterns of police violence continue to endanger Black communities. Please watch the film on your own at the link below and join in a discussion with organizing staff about how the racist housing policies of the past are still haunting us – and how we might consider our work for shelter, housing and policy in this context.
Watch Jim Crow of the North here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWQfDbbQv9E
The link to join the virtual discussion will be in your registration confirmation email.

Beacon Leadership Team Assembly - 6/23/20
2020-06-23 16:00 - 18:00
Join us from 4:00 – 6:00 PM for this virtual leadership assembly focusing on the special session and Beacon’s bold policy initiative, Bring It Home Minnesota. Ben Helvick Anderson, Beacon’s Policy Director will highlight the strategy for the summer and fall leading to the January legislative session. There is much we can do to influence legislators and secure champions and supporters of this legislation before the session starts! This assembly will provide the essential strategy for leaders to craft their organizing plans for the year.

Rent is Due: Day of Action - 7/1/20
2020-07-01 08:30 - 08:31
Please register below to join us for the July 1 Rent is Due: Day of Action.
We know that hundreds of thousands of our neighbors struggle to pay their rent every first of the month. This is disproportionately true for Black, Brown, and Indigenous families due to economic inequities stemming from centuries of historical injustice. As a state and as a community, we have the resources to make sure all people have a home. We need to unite together to advocate for emergency rental assistance for immediate relief from the COVID pandemic and the current economic downturn, and also work for long-term repair by creating a Minnesota rent subsidy program, Bring It Home, MN.
On Wednesday, July 1, we will join together at 8:30 a.m. for a thirty-minute update meeting, where we will go over instructions on how to take action together. Please register below to let us know you will participate and to receive further instructions on how to access the meeting
We are committed to holding a Rent is Due: Day of Action every month, so please mark your calendars for the rest of the year. We plan on having this event the first of the month, except when it lands on the weekend. In August and November, we will hold this event on the following Monday, August 3 and November 2.
We look forward to joining with you on July 1.

Evicted: Reading Group
2020-07-07 16:00 - 16:01
3 Tuesdays: July 7, 13, and 21 at 4 p.m.
As racial injustice consumes our local and global attention, Beacon leaders in St. Paul will take read and discuss the Pulitzer Prize winning book Evicted, by Matthew Desmond. Desmond uses narrative nonfiction and a close lens on another Midwestern city with extreme racial inequality, Milwaukee, to explore the historical and present, systemic and intimate realities of our housing catastrophe. Participants are urged (though not required) to attend all three sessions. We’ll also incorporate supplemental materials, and take an intentionally race equity-focused lens with the understanding that many folks are familiar with the book but may not have had the chance to discuss it with a group in this way.

Beacon Now: What’s Next in St. Paul?
2020-07-08 14:00 - 14:30, 2020-07-15 14:00 - 14:30, 2020-07-22 14:00 - 14:30, 2020-07-29 14:00 - 14:30
Whether you’re brand new to Beacon or have been a supporter for years, we invite you to attend a virtual “Beacon Now” session. In this session, we’ll touch on the basics of Beacon’s work, go in depth on one aspect of that work, and discuss how we can make a difference for our neighbors now. Encampments of neighbors without a home are again growing. Racial disparities in housing continue to harm communities of color. This session will cover work we’ve done in St. Paul to provide home and support for adults who have experienced homelessness including those who lived in the 2018 encampment at the Wall of Forgotten Natives. You’ll also hear what’s next for homes to support neighbors in the Saintly City.

What’s the Deal?: Housing Crisis and State Response
2020-07-08 15:00 - 16:00
Clara Lind, our Donor Experience Manager, will be hosting this event with information from Ben Helvick-Anderson, Director of Public Policy, and Craig Freeman, Community Connection Manager. Craig will give an overview of Beacon’s organizational structure and our policy initiatives, and Ben will provide a perspective on what the current Minnesota legislature has (or hasn’t) accomplished on behalf of our neighbors who experience housing instability on a daily basis.
We will also be able to give you a rundown of our future political goals and how Beacon’s policy work all leads towards our vision of a world in which all people have a home.
TO REGISTER: Please email Clara Lind at clind@beaconinterfaith.org with your name and if you are a member of a congregation. Once you’re registered, Clara will provide you with login directions for the event.

Beacon’s Hennepin County Jeopardy
2020-07-09 18:30 - 19:30
Beacon invites you to watch and play “Hennepin County Jeopardy,” hosted by Rev. Cindy Hillger, Deacon at St. Martin’s by the Lake Episcopal Church. Providing crucial information about this year’s upcoming elections for Hennepin County commissioners, we will learn about the power of Hennepin County government and the influence commissioners wield in making local policy, including housing policy. Play along to review Beacon’s important accomplishments over the years and build momentum as launch campaigns to push Hennepin County to invest in affordable housing developments like Bimosedaa and Vista 44. Our game show will feature three live contestants representing Suburban Hennepin County and Minneapolis, who will play 2 rounds of Jeopardy for prizes.

Beacon Leadership Team Assembly: Suburban Hennepin County
2020-07-13 16:00 - 17:30
On Monday July 13 from 4 – 5:30 p.m., Beacon will hold a Regional Strategy Meeting for congregations in Suburban Hennepin County. This will be a more informal conversation about Suburban Hennepin’s regional strategy to Advance Bring It Home MN in the strategic region of Minnesota’s State Senate District 44 and Build Hennepin Power in all 7 County Districts. Suburban Hennepin County congregational organizer, Drew Rindfleisch will send out documents before this meeting to outline for leaders the details of Beacon’s strategy and provide the analysis of the stakes and opportunities in Suburban Hennepin County. Please, read these documents before the meeting, and come with your questions to review with Beacon organizers. There will be urgent action steps and concrete take-aways that Suburban Hennepin congregations will begin implementing this month to lead us into 2021.

Families Moving Forward: Hosting Basics
2020-07-18 09:00 - 11:00 | MN, United States
Hosting Basics covers essential information for host coordinators and volunteers to know before any hosting experience begins: why families are homeless, what to expect from the families being hosted, roles of volunteers, and the support Beacon’s FMF staff provides.
For new and experienced host volunteers and host coordinators. We recommend attending once every two to three years to stay up to date on the program.

Kimball Court Expansion: St. Paul Zoning Hearing
2020-07-30 15:30 - 16:30
Join us for a virtual meeting of the St. Paul Zoning Committee, where Beacon’s Building Developers will present our proposal to expand Kimball Court. We’re asking members of our St. Paul Beacon committee to witness and learn about our building process, and to show the city our support for the supportive housing Kimball Court provides for individuals that have been long-term homeless. Join us to show St. Paul leaders our commitment that now, more than ever, we need homes for ALL.
Once you register, we will share login information before the meeting.
Reach out to St. Paul organizer Elizabeth Tannen with any questions: (917) 435-8367

Rent is Due: Day of Action - 8/3/20
2020-08-03 08:30 - 09:00
Please register below to join us for the August 3 Rent is Due: Day of Action.
We know that hundreds of thousands of our neighbors struggle to pay their rent every first of the month. This is disproportionately true for Black, Brown, and Indigenous families due to economic inequities stemming from centuries of historical injustice. As a state and as a community, we have the resources to make sure all people have a home. We need to unite together to advocate for emergency rental assistance for immediate relief from the COVID pandemic and the current economic downturn, and also work for long-term repair by creating a Minnesota rent subsidy program, Bring It Home, MN.
On Monday, August 3, we will join together at 8:30 a.m. for a thirty-minute update meeting, where we will go over instructions on how to take action together. Please register below to let us know you will participate and to receive further instructions on how to access the meeting.
We are committed to holding a Rent is Due: Day of Action every month, so please mark your calendars for the rest of the year. We plan on having this event the first of the month, except when it lands on the weekend.
We look forward to joining with you on August 3.

Beacon Now: Cranberry Ridge
2020-08-05 14:00 - 14:30, 2020-08-12 14:00 - 14:30, 2020-08-19 14:00 - 14:30, 2020-08-26 14:00 - 14:30
Whether you’re brand new to Beacon or have been a supporter for years, we invite you to attend a virtual “Beacon Now” session. In this session, we’ll touch on the basics of Beacon’s work, go in depth on one aspect of that work, and discuss how we can make a difference for our neighbors now. Encampments of neighbors without a home are again growing. Racial disparities in housing continue to harm communities of color. This session will cover the status of Cranberry Ridge, our family supportive housing development in Plymouth, and when we might expect to see the completion of these long awaited homes for families.

Research Visit Training
2020-08-06 16:00 - 17:30, 2020-08-24 16:00 - 17:30
Are you part of a team that is conducting research visits with legislators, mayors or other elected officials? Join this training to learn how to build and/or deepen these relationships as we secure answers to our most pressing questions.

Beacon Academy: How to Build a Beacon Leadership Team
2020-08-10 17:00 - 20:00
You asked for it, we are delivering! So many of you have asked for assistance in building or strengthening your leadership team, we created a workshop just for you! Whether you are a new congregation in the collaborative, are committed to joining, or have been creating a team for awhile, there is something in this workshop for you. Beacon organizers have over 50 years of organizing experience – including the creation and support of leadership teams. We all know how important it is to align our efforts to achieve our audacious vision of “all people have a home” and we know that the leadership team is the vehicle for how our congregations work to build power together. Creating a leadership team is as much of an art as a science…join us as we share of the essential tools of creating a powerful team ready to engage your congregation in the crucial work of addressing affordable housing and homelessness.

Launch of Family Supportive Housing in North Minneapolis
2020-08-13 18:30 - 20:00
Join us as we announce new housing for families on Emerson Avenue in North Minneapolis! These apartments, along with Prairie Pointe in Shakopee and Vista 44 in Hopkins, will provide high quality, well-managed homes for families with incomes less than $30,000. Find out what it will take to make it happen, and meet others from across the collaborative who will join together in this effort. Let’s show up together for housing on the Northside – register here and await a link to attend the meeting online.

Scott and Carver Regional Assembly: The future of FMF, Prairie Pointe, and the housing crisis
2020-08-20 18:00 - 19:30
Scott and Carver Regional Assembly: The future of FMF, Prairie Pointe, and the housing crisis
Join almost a dozen congregations from the Southwest collaborative for a virtual meeting as we provide updates and action steps for the future of Families Moving Forward in Scott and Carver Counties, Prairie Pointe, and addressing the wave of evictions facing over 250,000 of our neighbors across Minnesota. We are leading a campaign to change the story around housing and homeless in our communities and organizing for the solutions we need to match the crisis through the “Closer to Home Campaign”
We believe that God has given us what we need to thrive, that we live in a world of abundance, and that we don’t need to cut one human need for the other. We believe that no matter who you are, where you live, who you pray to, or what you look like, everyone should have a place to call home at the end of the day.
Join us on Thursday, August 20 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. as we come together to ensure that everyone who calls our communities home has the ability to access and afford one of their own.

Rent is Due: Day of Action - 9/1/20
2020-09-01 08:30 - 09:00
Please register below to join us, and raise our voices together for the September 1, Rent is Due: Day of Action.
Our vision is that all people have a home. The pandemic and economic crisis are building into an eviction crisis, which could add to the already too large number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness. We cannot let this happen, and home is the solution.
We need Bring it Home, MN, a rent subsidy program that will allow all low-income Minnesotans the security and reassurance of home.
On Tuesday, September 1, when rent is due, join us at 8:30 a.m. for a thirty-minute update meeting, where we will learn more about the growing crisis, reflect together over instructions on how to take action together.
Please register below to let us know you will participate and to receive further instructions on how to access the meeting.
We are committed to holding a Rent is Due: Day of Action every month, so please mark your calendars for the rest of the year. We plan on having this event the first of the month, except when it lands on the weekend. Our next two dates will be Thursday, October 1, and Monday, November 2.
We look forward to joining with you on September 1.

Beacon Now: Emerson Village
2020-09-02 14:00 - 14:30, 2020-09-09 14:00 - 14:30
Whether you’re brand new to Beacon or have been a supporter for years, we invite you to attend a virtual “Beacon Now” session. In this session, we’ll touch on the basics of Beacon’s work, go in depth on one aspect of that work, and discuss how we can make a difference for our neighbors now. Encampments of neighbors without a home are again growing. Racial disparities in housing continue to harm communities of color. This session will cover the announcement of Emerson Village, our newly launched family supportive housing development in North Minneapolis, and how you can get involved in advocating for these massively needed homes for families.

Amplifiers Training for Scott and Carver County - 9/12/20
2020-09-12 09:30 - 11:00
In order to see the housing solutions we need in Scott and Carver counties to become a reality, we need hundreds of people to share their vision and voices with our locally elected officials.
On Saturday, September 12 from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., join members of the Southwest Beacon Collaborative as we learn how to effectively engage our local elected leaders through grassroots advocacy and organizing.
You will learn the most effective language to use while making phone calls and writing emails as well as how to utilize social media to make sure your vision and voice is amplified!
From Families Moving Forward to Prairie Pointe, it’s going to take all of us to make sure our leaders know that we are prioritizing housing for families and so should they!
