Bridges Program Rental Assistance 
Request for Proposals Application
Grant Period: July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2027
Application deadline: Wednesday, December 4, 2024, at noon Central Time. 
This application must be submitted through the Multifamily Secure Upload Tool. Refer to the Request for Proposals (RFP) Application Instructions for more information.
Applicant Information
	Housing Agency Name:      
	Legal Organization Name (if different than above):      
	Organization Address:      
	Organization City, State ZIP Code:      
	Contact Person Name:      
	Contact Person Title:      
	Contact Person Telephone Number:      
	Contact Person Email Address:      
	Funding Request Type:
	 Bridges Rental Assistance
	 Bridges Regional Treatment Center (RTC) Rental Assistance
	Amount of Funding Request:
	$      Bridges Rental Assistance
	$      Bridges RTC Rental Assistance
	Proposed Service Area:      

Priority Populations (15 Points)
The Bridges Program is designed to assist people with high needs through housing subsidies that are linked with services provided by Behavioral Health Service Agencies and Housing Stabilization service providers. To achieve this goal, Housing Agencies must prioritize the following populations, with highest priority given to people in category 1, and identify these populations in the Housing Agency’s waiting list management and tenant selection plan:
Category 1: People living in an Institution, Segregated Setting, or under Correctional Supervision who will be Homeless upon exit.
Category 2: People experiencing Homelessness who are assessed as High Priority Homeless (HPH) through the Coordinated Entry (CE) system including households of individuals, families with children, or youth (age 18+).
Category 3: People who are experiencing Homelessness or are at Imminent Risk of Homelessness.
1.	What plan does your Housing Agency have to prioritize, reach, and serve people living in an Institution, Segregated Setting, or under Correctional Supervision who will be Homeless upon exit? If your organization is a current Housing Agency, highlight any changes your organization has made to the plan in the last contract term. 
	     
2.	How specifically will your Housing Agency reach households exiting Correctional Facilities or who are on Supervised Release? Who will be your referring partners for this group? If your organization is a current Housing Agency, identify any new approaches and relationships with Behavioral Health Service Agency/Agencies and partners that provide Housing Stabilization Services that have developed in the last contract term. 
	     
3.	Does your Housing Agency’s waiting list practice allow for people to transition directly from Homelessness or an Institution? If not, what are some ways your Housing Agency’s practice could be altered to allow for more real-time openings for People with Mental Illness in your Housing Agency’s Service Area? 
	     
4.	Does the local Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) administrator(s) prioritize Participants on their waiting list? If all administrators in the region are not prioritizing the population, how will you help ensure that Participants will have access to permanent housing options? 
	     
Program Design and Implementation (Possible Points: 15 Points) 
1.	Describe how your Housing Agency will ensure subsidies are available throughout your proposed Service Area, including to Tribal Nations within the area? If there are portions of your Service Area where program utilization is limited, what efforts will be made to better serve these regions? 
	      
2.	How will your Housing Agency conduct Housing Quality Standards (HQS) inspections and complete recertifications within your proposed Service Area? How will your Housing Agency incorporate virtual HQS inspections into the inspection plan? 
	     
3.	People with Mental Illness that are exiting Institutions and Segregated Settings often have barriers to housing. Home sharing and a higher maximum subsidy amount are allowable for this contract term. How will these program modifications be integrated into your Housing Agency’s housing search plans for Participants? 
	     
4.	If your Housing Agency is planning to use Subgrantees to implement the program in your  proposed Service Area, describe how your  Housing Agency will provide oversight and conduct monitoring of Bridges/Bridges RTC funded activities by these entities. 
	     
5.	Describe your Housing Agency’s policies or procedures to monitor utilization of program funds and assess your Housing Agency’s program model throughout the contract term, and how your  Housing Agency will address issues identified. 
	     
Equity (10 Points)
1.	How will your Housing Agency help ensure that referrals are received and access is created to the program so as to reach the most vulnerable households that are underserved and exiting Institutions, including those who are disparately impacted by Homelessness: Black, Indigenous and people of color, veterans, and those with mental illness that are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning/queer, intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA)? 
	     
2.	If Tribal Nations are included in your Housing Agency’s proposed Service Area, describe how Tribal members access the program and how they are involved in the Adult Mental Health Initiatives (AMHI) or collaborative meetings. If there is not Tribal land in the Service Area, how will your Housing Agency outreach to Indigenous people residing in the region? 
	     
3.	Specifically name the Behavioral Health Service Agency Partners and Housing Stabilization Services partners who will assist with the services for the most vulnerable households that are exiting Institutions and who will include people on Correctional Supervision, or households disparately impacted by Homelessness. State the specific service plan and resources that will be used. 
	     
Foundational Service Practices (10 Points) 
Foundational service practices identify areas of program implementation believed to have the greatest potential to positively impact outcomes for people experiencing Homelessness. The goals of the service practices are to establish standards to more effectively serve individuals and families who experience challenges in accessing and maintaining participation in the program. The foundational service practices are related to:
•	Documents required for enrollment
•	Frequency of required in-person appointments
•	Mailing address and phone number requirements
•	Communication methods
•	Criminal history
•	Documenting housing status
Describe:
1.	Specific strategies that your Housing Agency will implement to address the foundational service practices and reduce barriers to accessing or maintaining participation in the program. In the program annual report, your Housing Agency will be asked to report outcomes from these strategies. 
	     
2.	How your Housing Agency will evaluate the effectiveness of the implemented strategies and your Housing Agency ’s continuous improvement process if changes or revisions are needed. 
	     
Services (15 Points) 
1.	Describe the service models and strategies used to help ensure housing stability for persons who will be served in the program including referral, behavioral health, housing transition, housing sustaining, and eviction prevention strategies. Provide specific information on the Behavioral Health Services Agency and Housing Stabilization partners that will be involved, and the resources identified to provide the services. 
	     
2.	Describe how the Local Mental Health (LMH) Entity will work with local in-home Behavioral Health Service Agencies (for example, case management, Assertive Community Treatment (ACT), and Adult Rehabilitative Mental Health Services [ARMHS]) and Housing Stabilization Service providers to help ensure access and choice of providers by Participants for these services. 
	     
3.	Describe the plan and process for successfully transferring Participants to other permanent housing options, including how your Housing Agency and Behavioral Health Service Agency/Agencies and partners that provide Housing Stabilization Services will work with the Participant to achieve this goal. Identify how Participant transitions will be facilitated through increasing income, and what supportive services are in place to do so. 
	     
Bridges RTC Applicants Only (5 Points)
1.	Describe how your Housing Agency and your Behavioral Health Service Agency/Agencies will identify and engage people at Anoka Metro Regional Treatment Center (AMRTC) and/or St. Peter Regional Treatment Center to remove barriers to housing and help ensure that Participants can apply for and transition to Bridges RTC eligible housing. 
	     
2.	Describe how your Housing Agency and your Behavioral Health Service Agency/Agencies and partners that provide Housing Stabilization Services will utilize behavioral health, housing, and other services and resources to assist Participants in retaining housing. 
	     
New Applicants Only (35 Points) 
1.	Describe your Housing Agency’s administrative experience with similar projects. Your response must include, but is not limited to:
•	Previous experience with state or federal funding or housing programs that serve low-income households
•	Experience administering rental assistance
•	Experience serving the most vulnerable individuals with mental illness that are exiting Institutions, including people on Correctional Supervision or households disparately impacted by Homelessness
•	Program management, monitoring, and evaluation
     
2.	Describe your Housing Agency’s ability to administer the program. Your Housing Agency’s response must include, but is not limited to:
•	How your Housing Agency will identify and build relationships with landlords
•	How your Housing Agency will provide access to permanent housing options for Participants
     
3.	Describe your Housing Agency’s staff’s experience working with People with Mental Illness who are exiting Institutions, and who are experiencing Homelessness or Housing Instability. 
	     
4.	Describe your Housing Agency’s policies for in-person appointments for annual recertifications and accommodations that are available to Participants who have difficulty completing this process. 
	     
Performance – Current Housing Agencies Only (35 Points) 
Program staff will review the following when evaluating current Housing Agencies:
•	Grant fund utilization
•	Outcomes – households actually served compared to proposed number of households to be served
•	Timely report submission
•	Communication with Minnesota Housing
•	Budget Workbook responses
Required Documents
Submit application materials via the Multifamily Secure Upload Tool no later than 12:00 p.m. (noon) Central Time on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, in order to be considered for funding.
The Secure Upload Tool will direct you to send items to the following email: mhfa.app@state.mn.us. Review the Upload Tool Instructions for more information. 
	 1. Application
	 2. Application Signature Page (wet, digital, or electronic signatures will be accepted)
	 3. Budget Workbook; one Budget Workbook should be submitted if applying for both Bridges and Bridges RTC, and should include funding requests and information for both programs
	 4. Pre-award Risk Assessment Form and accompanying documents detailed in the form:
a.	Risk Assessment Form—Nonprofit Organizations
b.	Risk Assessment Form—Political Subdivisions
c.	Accompanying Documentation:
i.	Financial documents related to the applicant organization and detailed on the Risk Assessment Form (nonprofits and for-profits only)
1.	Internal Controls Certification—Nonprofit Organizations, if applicable
2.	Internal Controls Certification—For-Profit Business Entities, if applicable
ii.	Evidence of good standing with the Minnesota Secretary of State (nonprofits and for-profits only)
iii.	Certification of no convictions of felony financial crimes by a principal, along with a list of principals being certified (all applicants)
	 5. Current local payment standards (for each part of the Service Area)