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Housing and Homelessness 
Minnesota foreclosures rose 42 percent in September 2008 compared to foreclosure filings during the same period in 2007. Overall there were 2,144 foreclosure filings in Minnesota during September, placing Minnesota 26th in the nation for foreclosure filings that month. Hennepin County made up more than half of all foreclosure filings in the state.
On any given night in Minnesota, about 9,200 people experience homelessness. They stay in emergency shelters, transitional housing, battered women’s shelters, outside or in cars. Of that 9,200, more than 4,000 people, including 800 children, experience long-term homelessness, defined as lacking a permanent place to live continuously for a year or more or at least four times in the past three years.
Minnesota’s Plan to End Long-term Homelessness has been well-supported by bonding dollars that provide for the construction of supportive housing sites. The plan is actually ahead of schedule — 2,484 units of supportive housing have been provided since 2004.
Operating dollars for supportive services must follow the construction dollars. These services contribute to housing stability and an improved quality of life.
Additionally, nearly 24,000 unaccompanied youth experience homelessness in the course of a year. This year, advocates hope to secure funding for more outreach workers, drop-in centers, youth emergency shelters, and transitional living programs that would specifically target this at-risk population.
Legislative Directions:
- Promote opportunities that will transfer ownership of foreclosed homes from lending institutions to those in need of housing
- Protect and expand operating dollars in order to provide the services in supportive housing programs
- Work to secure $8 million in funding for the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act
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