The Importance of safe affordable Housing
Housing is a right. Every single person in our city deserves a safe place to call home — a place to rest their head at night and rejuvenate for the next day. Affordable housing has been at the heart of Mayor Frey’s career in public service, and he has made housing a priority for our local government.
Over the last four years, the mayor has helped build record levels of affordable housing throughout Minneapolis, strengthened renters’ rights, and boosted homeownership opportunities for residents of color. His administration has more than tripled investment in critical areas related to housing – which makes the city a better and stronger place for all of us to call home.
building and preserving affordable Housing
Minneapolis has faced an affordable housing crisis created and perpetuated by a lack of available affordable housing options. Mayor Frey has significantly expanded the city’s supply of available affordable housing through new policy and investments in both affordable housing production and preservation.
Minneapolis has built or preserved nearly 3,000 units of affordable rental housing, including 1,350 deeply affordable units, between 2018 and 2020. Our local government has never done so much, so quickly for affordable housing.
Boosted the pace of building deeply affordable housing by 7x the previous average rate, a significant increase. Deeply affordable housing is that which is available to households earning 30 percent or less of the Area Median Income.
Launched 4d, a program which helps preserve existing affordable housing by granting tax relief to building owners who keep 20% or more of their units affordable. This has effectively kept thousands of affordable housing units in our city.
Allocated over $4 million in city funding for the Minneapolis Homes program to redevelop more than 450 city-owned vacant building properties into affordable units, providing new pathways for homeownership and generational wealth-building in BIPOC communities.
Stable Homes, Stable Schools
In his first year in office, Mayor Frey brought together nonprofit partners and neighboring government agencies to launch the award-winning Stable Homes Stable Schools initiative. The program connects Minneapolis Public School students and families directly with the resources they need to prevent homelessness or find safe, secure housing.
After proving the program in a $3.3 million pilot, Mayor Frey has now made the program a part of the city’s ongoing budget, extending its reach and impact.
The program stabilized homes for 3,000 students from 900 different families.
Adressing Homelessness
Addressing the root causes of homelessness – economic equity and affordable housing – is the long-term solution, but Mayor Frey knows we also serve Minneapolis residents well by addressing immediate housing needs. That’s why he’s partnered with, community, county and state officials to expand and improve shelter options in Minneapolis.
Worked closely with the Native community to establish culturally-sensitive outreach programming for neighbors experiencing homelessness.
Developed a new shelter model promoting safety and community needs to address the reasons shelters are underused, which helps people get off the street.
Within new shelter model, placing an emphasis on stability and personal space — not just a bed for a night — to give residents a foundation on which they can build a new life.
In contrast to candidates who promote leaving encampments unmanaged, Mayor Frey is committed to ensuring public health and safety within and around homeless encampments. He is partnering with neighboring jurisdictions like Hennepin County and St. Paul to do so in a manner that respects the dignity of residents while simultaneously seeking to address root causes of homelessness.
Supporting Renters’ Rights
Between issues of affordability and risk of eviction, Mayor Frey understands the challenges facing too many renters in Minneapolis and has taken decisive steps to help address them.
Allocated $3.5 million in aid for immediate rental assistance for Minneapolis renters and families regardless of citizenship status amid the economic downturn resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Created the More Representation Minneapolis initiative which provides pro-bono representation for Minneapolis renters facing eviction or seeking to enforce their legal rights against landlords.