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Create a More Inclusive, Equitable and Just Housing System

Minnesota has some of the worst disparities in the country, including in housing, health, education, income and wealth. If we are truly to achieve the concept of One Minnesota, everyone must thrive, not just some. An inclusive, equitable and just housing system is critical to this work because housing is foundational to so much of life. Because the root causes of these disparities are deep and systemic, our strategies will be deep and systemic, starting with Minnesota Housing itself.

Key Metrics

Number and share of rental housing developments that Minnesota Housing finances that have at least two businesses owned or run by a woman and/or a person who is Indigenous, Black and of color (coming soon)

Number and share of owner-occupied developments that Minnesota Housing finances that have at least one business owned or run by a woman and/or a person who is Indigenous, Black and of color (coming soon)

Actions

Increase Minnesota Housing’s Diversity, Cultural Competency, and Focus on Equity and Antiracism

Increase Minnesota Housing’s Diversity, Cultural Competency, and Focus on Equity and Antiracism

  • Carry out the activities listed in the Equity and Inclusion section of the One Minnesota Plan
  • Increase the number of our leaders and staff who are from communities most impacted by disparities
  • Continue and enhance our journey to become more culturally adaptive and incorporate these practices into everything we do
  • Hold ourselves accountable to embed an inclusion, equity and justice lens in our daily work
  • Continue becoming more antiracist in our work
  • Engage with members of the public in community settings
Co-Create Solutions with Communities Carry out the activities listed in the Equity and Inclusion section of the One Minnesota Plan

Co-Create Solutions with Communities Carry out the activities listed in the Equity and Inclusion section of the One Minnesota Plan

  • Continually engage communities facing housing disparities and/or instability to co-create solutions
  • Create more opportunities for community to participate in program decision making and hire and compensate consultants with lived expertise
  • Be attentive to and take collaborative action on what we hear and learn in partnership with the community
  • Communicate the changes we will make back to community and verify that we got it “right”
Make Our Programs More Inclusive, Equitable and Just

Make Our Programs More Inclusive, Equitable and Just

  • Carry out the strategies and actions outlined under Make Housing Programs More Accessible and Easier to Use with an inclusion, equity and justice lens
  • Focus on the programs, processes and systems that are not working for everyone and make sure they equitably serve people with different needs and from different backgrounds
  • Embed an inclusion, equity and justice lens in the foundation and throughout the creation and implementation of new programs
  • Review all program language to make sure it aligns with the Agency’s values and style manual and is culturally appropriate
  • Incentivize Agency grantees and contractors to act consistently with the Agency’s values and priorities
Diversify the Partners with whom We Work

Diversify the Partners with whom We Work

  • Invest in organizations led by individuals from communities that have been historically exclude
  • Collaborate with these organizations in building their capacity and by providing them the tools and resources they need to do their work
  • Assess the capacity of new partners and provide technical assistance and training as needed so they can submit competitive applications for funding and effectively administer our programs
  • Prioritize culturally effective work carried out by organizations led and trusted by the community when selecting projects and organizations for funding, which requires not centering the decision on the dominant white culture’s expectations of success, such as speed of deploying resources, which can be important but can also come at the expense of equity
Address Systemic Barriers

Address Systemic Barriers

  • Work with people with lived expertise in facing housing instability to identify and remove the systemic barriers that create housing inequities
  • Create policy and action agendas to remove the barriers
  • Lead by example in how to dismantle inequitable and inaccessible programs, processes and systems
  • Support solutions that increase housing stability and access, such as renter protections and tenant screening criteria that are guided by evidence-based research
  • Support and advocate for policies and practices that create access, choice and a full range of housing options that are affordable in all communities
  • Use our role and position in the housing industry to advocate for housing equity and policies/practices that are inclusive, equitable, just and antiracist
Continually Analyze Program Processes and Outcomes

Continually Analyze Program Processes and Outcomes

  • Collect and analyze data at the most disaggregated level possible
  • Thoroughly analyze outcomes and program processes disaggregated by race/ethnicity, disability status and other characteristics that reflect inequity
  • Adjust and act where populations are not being served equitably

Expand the strategic plan table of contents to navigate the plan's strategic objectives and their dashboard metrics.

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