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Homework Starts with Home

Apply for Funding

Minnesota Housing is now accepting applications for the Homework Starts with Home (HSWH) program. This program supports collaborative efforts between schools, housing organizations and local governments to identify, engage and stabilize students and their families experiencing homelessness. Minnesota Housing anticipates allocating up to $3.5 million in HSWH funds using the Family Homelessness Prevention and Assistance Program (FHPAP) and Housing Trust Fund (HTF) program guidelines. Funding availability is contingent upon legislative approval of program appropriations and may increase or decrease.

Information Session and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Minnesota Housing hosted an information session for those interested in applying for HSWH funds on June 9, 2021. Watch the recording (60:04) and view the PowerPoint slides.
 
View the FAQs that include questions that were asked during and since the webinar on June 9. Minnesota Housing will continue to accept questions about the application until 12:00 p.m. (noon) on Tuesday, July 27. Answers to questions received will be added to the original FAQs and posted around Friday, July 9 and final, updated FAQs will be posted around Monday, August 2.

Application Materials

Application Process

Applications are due by 12:00 p.m. (noon) CT on Tuesday, August 10, 2021. Review the RFP Application Instructions for submission instructions.

Program Overview

Homework Starts with Home (HSWH) is a grant program focused on addressing homelessness and housing instability among students and their families. A study conducted by public and charter schools across Minnesota identified 6,207 students who were experiencing homelessness on October 1, 2020. The students attended 1,015 schools and educational programs statewide, spanning 293 school districts and 76 counties.
 
Homelessness disproportionally impacts certain populations, such as Black students, students of color, Indigenous students, students with disabilities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning/queer (LGBTQ) young people. After more than a decade of continuous growth, the trajectory of student homelessness in Minnesota may be changing. School-based studies for students experiencing homelessness have seen lower numbers two years in a row, which also follow a period of significant decrease in families experiencing homelessness identified through Minnesota’s annual Point-in-Time count. The goal of HSWH is to maintain and accelerate this trajectory and to promote more effective responses to the needs of students.
 
HSWH uses program guidelines: the Family Homelessness Prevention and Assistance Program (FHPAP) and the Housing Trust Fund (HTF) rental assistance program to prevent homelessness whenever possible and if homelessness does occur, to help make sure that it is rare, brief, and non-recurring.

Program Information

Reporting and Budget

Visit www.hmismn.org for the latest updates on reporting on households served in HMIS.

Information Sessions on the Preliminary Practice Model

To help potential applicants consider how the program and its preliminary practice model could be implemented, refer to the following informational sessions and materials:

  • Two-Generational Approaches to Supporting Families. View the slides, handout, and listen to the recording.

  • Leveraging Mainstream Resources. View the slides and listen to the recording.

  • Progressive Engagement and Rapid Rehousing. View the slides and listen to the recording.

  • Trauma-informed Care in Schools. View the slides and listen to the recording.

  • Lessons from the Hamilton San Francisco Pilot. View the slides and listen to the recording.

Contact

Erin Menne at erin.menne@state.mn.us or Nancy Urbanski at nancy.urbanski@state.mn.us.