Low-income and nowhere to live

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As more Minnesotans lose their jobs and confront economic uncertainty, they may turn to Section 8, the federal government’s largest low-income housing assistance program, for help.When they do, they’ll face an unpleasant surprise. On average, metro-area applicants spend at least three years on a Section 8 waiting list. But even getting one of the several lists run by area housing agencies isn’t easy. In Minneapolis and St. Paul, the Section 8 waiting lists open about once every five years. Continue Reading

Tough rental market hits families hard

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For months, Jamie Steward thought the recession just meant fewer customers for the small auto repair business she ran out of her garage.But three weeks ago, Steward heard a knock at her door. A Ramsey County sheriff was outside. He explained that Steward’s landlord had stopped paying his mortgage and the St. Paul bungalow was now in foreclosure. “I couldn’t believe it,” Steward said. Continue Reading

Neighbors helping neighbors—to break into vacant houses

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Poverty rights activists broke into at least a dozen vacant Minneapolis buildings this week and helped homeless families move in.“This is the modern underground railroad,” said Cheri Honkala, National Organizer for the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign, the group organizing the “takeovers.”This week’s actions are part of a growing national movement to illegally open up thousands of vacant, foreclosed homes to provide housing for the growing number of homeless people. Over 3,000 Minneapolis homes went into foreclosure in 2008. Advocates estimate that over 7,000 Minnesotans are homeless. Most Twin Cities’ homeless shelters have been filled to capacity for months.On a recent afternoon, organizers planned their next takeover while eating cabbage, rice, sausage, and corn bread prepared by Rosemary, a 59-year-old African American woman facing eviction from her home. Rosemary, who asked that her last name not be used, plans to remain in her house illegally after the March 31 eviction date. Continue Reading

“People’s Bailout” for Minnesota safety net as recession deepens

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UPDATED 2/11/09 — Two DFL state legislators introduced “People’s Bailout” bills on February 9 to provide assistance to low-income Minnesotans facing unemployment, foreclosures, and welfare cuts. State Sen. David Tomassoni (DFL-Chisholm) and State Rep. David Bly (DFL-Northfield) said that while Congress has given billions of dollars to banks, the middle class and people living in poverty have been largely ignored. “We need legislation that reflects the needs of the public, not just big business and Wall Street,” Sen. Tomassoni said. The legislation proposes a two-year moratorium on the current five-year limit on welfare benefits for low-income families. Currently, families are cut off welfare benefits after five years. Continue Reading

Midwinter homeless (under)count in Minnesota

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On a recent morning, Christopher Scott sat on the ground outside Harbor Light, a homeless shelter in downtown Minneapolis, contemplating the series of events that led to him joining the growing ranks of homeless in Minnesota. For about a year, Scott, 27, was barely scraping by, earning minimum wage working part-time at McDonald’s. He lived with his girlfriend, who worked at White Castle, in a $450 a month apartment in north Minneapolis. When the landlord raised the rent to $750, the couple could not afford the apartment and became homeless. Now Scott spends his days shuttling between homeless shelters in St. Continue Reading