MICAH's News from February 2020
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February
Policy Highlights
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Legislature Open for business and
Lead Safe Homes bill gets new champion in the Senate!
The short legislative session kicked off on February 11 and staff at MICAH have been extra busy. Former Health Commissioner Ed Ehlinger and JRLC Executive Anne Krisnik joined Sue Watlov Phillips and Patti Whitney-Wise in a round of key meetings with legislators on the Lead Safe Homes bill (HF 1007/ SF 1798).
Since the bill passed in the House last year, we have focused our attention on the Senate. Remarkably, we were able to include Senator Hall (R-Dakota Co) as the chief author (
with help from Senator Little and the South Chapter members of MICAH
) and Senator Abeler (R) as co-author.
In other news for the month; H4A held their kick-off on February 18, with awards to legislators for their work in 2019 and Lt. Gov Peggy Flanigan addressed the group about continuing to push for the $500 million in bonding to create and preserve affordable housing in Minnesota.
On February 20, JRLC held a first ever Faith Leaders Housing Summit, which MICAH helped support. Over 90 pastors and lay leaders heard from Governor Walz, housing experts and legislators about the urgent need for affordable housing.
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Join us Wednesday, March 11 for
Homeless Day on the Hill
500 Cedar Street St. Paul, 55101
75 Rev. Martin Luther King Drive St. Paul, 55101
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Meet the People Who Make MICAH Happen
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Rome Darring
MICAH Board Member
Envision Community Leader
Member of Street Voices of Change
Member of From the Streets
On the Leadership Team for Homes for All as a person with lived experience.
Because of my love of advocacy and wanting to help the people of my community, I started out by joining the Street Voices of Change. And, through my membership there, I’d asked to join what became the Envision tiny home community.
In 2019 I joined the MICAH board.
What I like about being with MICAH is that they keep the history of advocacy in the fight for housing. MICAH takes time to teach and support the people on how to fight for affordable housing and take on that advocacy.
Photo: Rome Darring, right, presenting Homes for All Award to Senator Paul Utke.
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MICAH's Board Members discuss the importance of making sure that the people impacted by homelessness and housing crisis are the key decision makers in finding and creating solutions to ensure that everyone has a safe, decent, accessible, and affordable home.
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Our Lead Safe Homes Bill (SF 1798)
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MICAH South Chapter is excited to have Senator Hall and Senator Little (Dakota County Senators) as authors of our Lead Safe Homes Bill.
Senator Little (D) asked Senator Hall (R) to take over the role as Chief Author in February.
Authors: Senator Hall, Senator Little, Senator Abler, Senator Dziedzic and Senator Hawj are working together with the Republican lead Senate to have a hearing on the bill and move it forward in the Senate this year.
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Goals and Priorities!
The St. Paul Chapter met February 20
to debrief the very successful legislative breakfast, receive and review the legislative binder for this year, and plan for the coming months.
On March 19,
we will hold an advocacy training for the chapter, with Matt Traynor, MN Homeless Coalition.
Three goals have emerged as top priority:
1. Deepen relationships with communities of color, faith and otherwise.
2. Bring in more members.
3. Provide training on Housing 101.
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Warming Shelters, Legislative Packets & Learnings
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In Washington County two of our MICAH congregations shared the Overnight Emergency Warming Shelter responsibilities – in January it was St. Andrew’s and their Community Resource Center in Mahtomedi and in February it was Trinity Lutheran in Stillwater.
We did an exercise building a strategic plan for the coming years. We ranked four overall themes (with a number of sub-topics in those themes):
- chapter growth,
- legislative focus,
- leadership training, and
- advocacy campaigns.
Votes are being tallied and will be revealed in our March meeting, which will be on Tuesday March 10th at 8 AM at
White Bear Lake City Hall
, second floor, Expansion Room.
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Shelter Opens on Valentines Day
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Thank you to Elim Church and Strong Tower for your prayers and providing space for over 80 men, women and couples to have a safe warm loving shelter at night.
Praise God and thank Junail, Freddy, Dewayne and Rome for stepping up and cooking meals each night for our guests and for some private donations to provide food.
This Dream of a Shelter now a Reality, was shared by Pastor Becky and the Shelter Board team as we looked for space to have a shelter.
As we read and prayed Proverbs 3:5, 6 “Trust the Lord with all your heart, do not lean on your own understandings. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct/ make straight your paths.”
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Mobile Hope
works with and within mobile home communities.
Their goal is to build healthy and sustainable communities by teaching and supporting everyone involved from residents to owners and those who serve the neighborhood.
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MICAH is proud to sponsor Freedom From the Streets
and support this diverse group, formed of people who have been homeless or are homeless. Co-Chairs are John Bradley and Junail Freeman Anderson (founder) who serves on MICAH’s board of directors.
In the seven months that Freedom From the Streets has been meeting
, they have identified issues that need to be addressed in the shelter system, with police, and at the policy level.
Their guests have included Jim McDonough, Ramsey County Commissioner, Jane Prince, City Council Member, Joan Miltenberger, Catholic Charities.
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Hillcrest Golf Development Update
by Victoria Caprioni
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On February 12, a group of over 150 met on the Hillcrest Golf Course development. It was standing room only and included over 50 people from Maplewood. Presenters were Bill Dermody, Katherine from the Port Authority, a representative from the Cunningham group, the Mayor and City Council as well as our local state representative.
They outlined the timeline for the project: 3 information gathering meetings finalized by a hearing, during which the planning process will begin based on some of the feed back from the area. Culminating in a plan approximately 1 year from now.
They set up 2 groups of four listening sessions at the meeting. They encouraged people to move from one to another with a 15 minute time frame. The areas were: Living in the community, Working in the community, building community, and options to vote on types of housing.
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8:00am - Meet up & Training:
10:00am to 3:00pm - Advocacy:
8:30am- 4:30pm
InterContinental Riverfront Hotel
11 E Kellogg Blvd, St Paul, MN 55101
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
L’Etoile du Nord Vault, MN State Capitol
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