THE CHANGE WE SEEK: MINNESOTA’S NEW ACTION PLAN TO PREVENT AND END HOMELESSNESS
May 3, 2018
On March 6, 2018, Minnesota embarked on an exciting new journey in our work to prevent and end homelessness. Nearly 850 representatives of state, tribal, and county governments, Continuums of Care (CoCs), people with lived experience of homelessness, homelessness service organizations, philanthropic partners, advocates, and many other stakeholders joined together to launch Heading Home Together: Minnesota’s 2018 – 2020 Action Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness.
This plan builds on the success of two previous Heading Home plans adopted by the Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness. The Council consists of members of the Governor’s cabinet, and collectively guides the work of state government to achieve housing stability for all Minnesotans. Since the first Heading Home plan started four years ago, and during one of the most significant affordable housing crises in decades, homelessness in Minnesota decreased twice as fast as it did nationally. Across the state, family homelessness dropped by 20% and chronic homelessness decreased by 27%. Since 2010, Veteran homelessness has decreased by 56%. Our council’s leadership and strategic use of state resources has been critical to this progress, but we know that state agencies cannot—and do not—end homelessness alone.