Seven Experts Set the Stage for Supportive Housing Solutions Minnesota Needs

Housing security and justice are big issues in most Minnesota communities. Rising construction costs — and a lack of investment and renovation funds going back decades — means that communities statewide do not have enough affordable housing. We reached out to seven housing experts, each with unique perspectives. What problems can we solve together with innovation and collective action?

The Experts

Adriane Epps. Story here.

Adriane Epps: CEO of Twoie Construction and TWOIE Village Homes. “I serve as both the general contractor and real estate developer focused on building and rehabbing affordable, high-quality homes for underserved communities in Minneapolis. My work includes acquiring vacant and city-owned lots, designing and constructing new energy-efficient housing, managing all operations, and ensuring compliance with local codes and financing requirements. As an emerging developer, I’m also mentoring young adults who are working on a path to construction trades.”

Mikeya Griffin

Mikeya Griffin: Executive director of Rondo Community Land Trust, a nonprofit in Saint Paul that works with Ramsey and Dakota Counties. “Our focus is building generational wealth and stability for families, especially in communities that have faced historic barriers to ownership for homes or businesses.. We remove land from the speculative market and keep it in community hands permanently. We are among 14 community land trusts in Minnesota; we were the first in the state. I also do policy advocacy, field building, and technical assistance to other community land trusts across the Midwest.”

Debbie Freedman

Deborah Freedman: Housing development senior coordinator at One Roof Community Housing. “We started as Northern Communities Land Trust and became One Roof by combining with a neighborhood housing services organization. My role at One Roof is to lead the new construction development of single-family homes for the land trust.  I also helped to lead the development of Plover Place, which is a new model to more quickly build housing to provide individuals  who have experienced homelessness with supportive permanent housing. Plover Place has two small 12-unit buildings with a common kitchen and living space, and offices for staff. They were built by a modular housing contractor.”

Deanna Hemmesch: Executive director of Central Minnesota Housing Partnership, Inc. “We are a nonprofit community housing development organization (CHDO) working in 16 counties in central Minnesota. My main role is as an affordable housing developer for multifamily housing. CMHP owns 38 properties (980 units) of affordable rental housing throughout our region. We have developed them from the ground-up, utilizing Minnesota Housing Finance Agency resources, or acquired and renovated them throughout our region to maintain affordability.”

Marti Maltby at the 40th anniversary celebration of Minnesota Women’s Press

Marti Maltby: Executive director of Peace House Community in Minneapolis. “We do not do any housing ourselves but serve as a community center. Most of the folks who come in here are homeless, so we have services like meals, haircuts, and bike repairs. We partner with organizations for mental health, physical health, and housing. We provide a space where workers can connect with folks who need their services.”

Sindy Mau: Executive director at Aging Options, an advocacy, education, and outreach agency focused on social justice issues. “Currently, I provide health outreach and advocacy for people experiencing homelessness through a grant funded by the Minnesota Department of Human Services. Prior to that, I was the Strategic Planner on Homelessness for the City of Minneapolis Health Department. I worked collaboratively on a grant with City of Minneapolis Emergency Preparedness staff to address the water, sanitation, and hygiene needs of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness.”

Irene Ruiz-Briseño, Greater Minnesota Housing Fund. Story here.

Irene Ruiz-Briseno: Program Manager with Greater Minnesota Housing Fund. “We are a nonprofit CDFI affordable housing lender. My role is to provide technical assistance and resources to emerging developers, specifically from underrepresented communities, and to increase the diversity in the affordable housing development space.”

Anne Mavity. Photo Sarah Whiting

We also have a full conversation with Anne Mavity of Minnesota Housing Partnership, who outlines issues and solutions.

• “We need to make it easy to build,” she says. Mavity points out that half of other states are ahead of Minnesota in addressing the regulations issue.
• There is precedent, however, for smart and relatively painless sources of funding. For example, “The Legacy Amendment funded arts and parks on a 3/8 percent statewide sales tax.
• She also advocates for rental and down payment assistance “to get people into homes and help them stay there because housing costs are a key factor in people being able to afford their lives.”
• She highlights various ideas that are being implemented: the development of community land trusts, apartment conversions from office spaces, modular housing, and new funding for social housing that passed in a bill this year.

Problem One: Lack of Key Resources

The first problem the experts highlighted was the lack of baseline resources. “Quality shelter beds is a major gap,” said Mau, noting that folks seeking overnight shelter often can’t confirm bed availability until late at night, creating all-day uncertainty. 

Griffin indicated that historically marginalized communities in particular need access to capital, assistance, and information for first-time home buying and small-business ownership. 

Hemmesch works primarily in Greater Minnesota and added that inaccessibility of housing education and resources is an issue outside of the metro areas. She added the need to develop basic housing support for high-risk populations, such as seniors facing housing insecurity. Freedman noted the need for resources for people simultaneously dealing with substance struggles and housing issues. Epps pointed out how difficult it is for anyone with criminal records to find housing. 

Outside of direct-housing services, there is a dearth of employment opportunities.

Mau said, “We really need employment agencies or government entities to create short-term positions specifically meeting the needs of people experiencing homelessness.”

Agencies could provide help with ID requirements and ensure people are paid at the end of each work day. “People are very eager to work,” she said, “but the barriers to people being able to work are so great.” 

Problem Two: One-Size-Fits-All Housing Resources

Another major problem is the one-size-fits-all approach to housing resources. This can look like nonprofits limited to narrow lanes because of funding limitations, or the general policy assumption that a solution that works for one individual or community will work for all. 

Maltby talked about the Housing First model, which is intended to offer secure housing as the first step before adding in services for mental and chemical health, and healing trauma. “The Housing First programs that research is based on tend to be extremely well-funded and have very diverse resources. That’s not the sort of program we have here, certainly in Hennepin County.” 

He added, for some people, independent housing is not appropriate. They don’t have the life skills at this point to live properly on their own; they may need other resources first.

“Providing one model and hoping that it will work for everyone is not a comprehensive solution. A lot of our folks don’t want to go into their own apartment. They want to be with their friends, they want to have a social life.

“Some housing outreach workers show up and offer one thing, and if you don’t want it, the response is ‘well, we tried.’ That’s one of the really big frustrations I have.” 

Problem Three: Slow and Exclusionary Construction Process 

Ruiz-Briseno said, “In my work with emerging developers, and specifically developers that come from communities of color, they see the ways that a lot of our communities are left behind by the current housing system. They’re passionate and want to be part of the solution, but they face barrier after barrier of trying to solve other problems within the housing ecosystem.” 

Some of those blocks include bureaucratic red tape, and hesitancy to invest in and fully support new developers. “Our emerging developers have the capacity to do so much more,” said Ruiz-Briseno. “However, it’s such a slow and arduous process, and all of the risk gets put on the brand-new developer.”

Epps is one such developer. His recent housing redevelopment in Minneapolis took two and a half years to get approvals.

Epps acknowledged that all the roadblocks can be discouraging. Ultimately, though, he is driven forward by his passion. “I want to provide actual wealth for my culture.”

Solution One: Community-Rooted and Flexible Solutions 

Turning to solutions, our experts highlighted the need for community-centered housing solutions. Griffin’s work with the Rondo Community Land Trust is an example of this, drawing power from a unique history. As a fourth-generation Rondo community member, she is part of addressing challenges with tailored solutions. Griffin said, “Innovation has to come in different, scalable options so that we can address the actual need(s), get to building, and then provide solutions around social, economic, cultural, and systemic issues.” 

Maltby emphasized the need to center adaptable and community-centered problem-solving to develop a greater variety of housing options, from independent living to communal living. “There have to be more housing models to cater to people who have different expectations of what housing is going to give them,” he said. 

Solution Two: Streamlining Housing Investments 

Development processes need to change. Said Ruiz-Briseno, “I would like to see public funders streamline and simplify their processes so that emerging developers that want to use funds from the city, the county, and the state could do so through a process that is easier to navigate, with more support in place. We could remove the barriers to accessing funding sources.”

Solution Three: Invest in People, Not Projects

Epps noted that people must be at the heart of all housing solutions. “I want to see more people from the community, more people that look like me” involved in growing a housing network of people with relevant, lived experiences and real passion for the communities they are helping to build. 

Mau added,“My idea is that we form collectives of small groups of people experiencing homelessness and go from the ground up.” Collectives could provide “accountability from other group members and motivation and support to navigate through the long and arduous process of finding housing and stability.” 

The search for housing stability can be isolating. Yet healthy housing policy is about building and sustaining strong, collective communities.

Anne Mavity. Photo Sarah Whiting

We also have a full conversation with Anne Mavity of Minnesota Housing Partnership, who outlines issues and solutions.

• “We need to make it easy to build,” she says. Mavity points out that half of other states are ahead of Minnesota in addressing the regulations issue.
• There is precedent, however, for smart and relatively painless sources of funding. For example, “The Legacy Amendment funded arts and parks on a 3/8 percent statewide sales tax.
• She also advocates for rental and down payment assistance “to get people into homes and help them stay there because housing costs are a key factor in people being able to afford their lives.”
• She highlights various ideas that are being implemented: the development of community land trusts, apartment conversions from office spaces, modular housing, and new funding for social housing that passed in a bill this year.