Nicollet Square
InCommons Collaboration Challenge
Nicollet Square
Nicollet Square involves Westminster Presbyterian and Plymouth Congregational Churches with the Plymouth Church Neighborhood Foundation, YouthLink, HIRED and Common Bond to build and run a 42-unit permanent
supportive, housing program for homeless youth and youth in extended foster care (ages18-21. A broad range of social services and employment training/placement will be provided by the communities best experts. The problem addressed is finding stable living skills from unstable life.Funding for construction and program included city, county, state and federal sources and private funds from the churches. There will be a commercial site in the building at which the youth can immediately find work to pay their rent. HIRED will also arrange for subsidized intern jobs in community businesses. This is one of the first facilities in the nation for youth in extended foster care as well as homeless youth. Both churches will continue to be heavily involved as volunteers, mentors and employers. YouthLink, Hennepin Co. HIRED and Common Bond(property manager) are interviewing applicants with an expected move-in date of first residents in mid-December. Program staff from YouthLink and Hired will be located in the building for easy availability. Community businesses have expressed interest in hiring residents and helping to train them. These youth face barriers including racism, mental health issues, low educational attainment and coming from broken, unhealthy families, including abusive behavior and domestic violence. Many of these youth are rejected because of GLBT identification.
Contributor
Douglas Mitchell2010-10-28 17:17
0 Comments
About You
About You
First Name
Douglas
Last Name
Mitchell
Country
United States
About Your Organization
Organization
Westminster Presbyterian Church
Organization Website
ewestminster.org
Organization Phone
612-332-3421
Organization Address
1200 Marquette Ave Minneapolis MN 55403
Organization Country
United States
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
Your Story
Collaboration Title
Nicollet Square
Country your work focuses on
United States, MN, Hennepin County
Describe your locally-based collaboration and the problem it sought to address
Nicollet Square involves Westminster Presbyterian and Plymouth Congregational Churches with the Plymouth Church Neighborhood Foundation, YouthLink, HIRED and Common Bond to build and run a 42-unit permanent
supportive, housing program for homeless youth and youth in extended foster care (ages18-21. A broad range of social services and employment training/placement will be provided by the communities best experts. The problem addressed is finding stable living skills from unstable life.Funding for construction and program included city, county, state and federal sources and private funds from the churches. There will be a commercial site in the building at which the youth can immediately find work to pay their rent. HIRED will also arrange for subsidized intern jobs in community businesses. This is one of the first facilities in the nation for youth in extended foster care as well as homeless youth. Both churches will continue to be heavily involved as volunteers, mentors and employers. YouthLink, Hennepin Co. HIRED and Common Bond(property manager) are interviewing applicants with an expected move-in date of first residents in mid-December. Program staff from YouthLink and Hired will be located in the building for easy availability. Community businesses have expressed interest in hiring residents and helping to train them. These youth face barriers including racism, mental health issues, low educational attainment and coming from broken, unhealthy families, including abusive behavior and domestic violence. Many of these youth are rejected because of GLBT identification.
Tell us about the community in which this collaboration took place
It is located in a primarily residential middle class neighborhood that is heavily single family homes. There is a commercial node 1 block away and good bus transportation in all directions. Minneapolis is a relatively wealthy, progressive city that has systems to support the high percentage of vulnerable youth who are GLBT. City and County governments are strongly supportive of Nicollet Square
Issue Selector
n/a
Partnership
Who was involved in co-creating or implementing your collaboration (other organizations, leaders, community members, etc.)?
Westminster & Plymouth churches committed $750,000 for Housing 150 LLC under Plymouth Church Neighborhood Foundation, a non-profit affordable housing developer. These 3 chose YouthLink for in-depth social service support, HIRED for employment training/placement/careers. Common Bond for property management. Hennepin Co. Commissioner Gail Dorfman was vital. Kingfield neighborhood Asoc was accepting
To what extent does your collaboration involve partnerships that are outside or cross traditional organizational or sector boundaries?
It includes County government cooperation screening of youth in the new category of extended foster care (ages 18-21) as well as a private youth-serving agency YouthLink screening long-term homeless youth. Each will fill 21/42 units and collaborate to be sure the needs of both populations are met. 15 downtown churches, mosques and temple are providing support.
Innovation
What makes your locally-based collaboration innovative and unique?
It provides infastructure for serving youth in the new extended foster care system. It gives youth ageing out at 18 the chance to gain the indepencence of their own apartment, but with the security of services and support right in the building. The program connects permanent supportive housing to supported employment to make the "Housing First/Work Fast" model possible. A fixed rent of $203/mo. for the first two years encourages work. The stable supportive housing insures they can addreess the barriers they bring from their foster care or homeless experiences. Homeless and foster care youth share backgrounds of unstable, low income housing settings as well as other barriers. Housing them together provides a diverse environment of peer learning to combine with their own private apartment. Each will have at least 3 months of subsidized supported transitional part-time jobs as they live on their own, probably for the first time. With a fixed rent, increased wages trnslates into increased disposable income, improved educational attainment and employment skills build self-confidence & income potential.
Did you take risks in establishing this collaboration? Explain
Raising $9million in this economic/housing environment was a big risk. The property waspurchased 2 years ago in a different economic reality. If the building is not successfully used for the purposes stated, Housing 150 would have to repay the tax credit funds used for construction. The churches intentionally chose such a difficult housing choice because that is what people of faith should do.
How did this collaboration differ from the normal way of doing your work?
Two congregations initiated a relationship with a non-profit housing developer and put up $750,000 to make real contributions to the cities housing needs. 4 levels of government, three private non-profits and 15 downtown churches, mosques and temple are all involved. It provides comprehensive housing/living/employment services to 2 populations in one program/facility.
Impact
How do you know your collaboration has been effective?
The downtown congregations have engaged in joint advocacy for the project at the neighborhood approval level, organizing over 100 people including 4 senior clergy to attend the zoning board hearing where wavers were approved and organizing postcard and visit campaigns to get the County Commission to commit HPRP/stimulus funding for services. Effectiveness of design and confidence in execution was also shown when the MN Housing Finance Agency chose this as one of the projects to refer to the Tax Credit Exchange Program in the stimulus bill.
What progress or impact has been made?
The apartment building is nearing completion. Hennepin County, YouthLink and HIRED have selected staff for the program. Hen. Co. have begun taking applications for extended foster care apartments and YouthLink/HIRED/ Common Bond will start taking applications Nov 8-9. Relationships with referring agencies and government offices are strong. Youth applying have a new sense of hope for their future
Next Steps
How would you go about continuing, expanding, or replicating this collaboration?
We are contracting for a formal outside evaluation, particularly on the question of how the Fast Work element through the on-site commercial enterprise and the off-site employment with the salary subsidies for both strengthens the Housing First model. Because this is such an early response to the new extended foster care program, we have received expressions of interest from others about possible replication based on experience and evaluation. We expect to publish the program and evaluation in trade/academic journals. We are working to secure long-term funding from government sources, foundations, individuals and congregations. PCNF has taken over a substantial number of supportive housing buildings in St. Paul MN and they are looking at using a model like Nicollet Square (NS)in that setting.
Describe the current stage of implementation and desired next steps
The building is nearing completion . The working relationships with the County foster care office and YouthLink are in place and selection of the first residents has begun for the Co. and will begin in early November for YouthLink. We expect the first residents to move in mid December. Funding is nearly complete for the first year of operation but we need to raise additional funding for providing services the second year. At that point, the substantial funding from the HPRH/stimulus package for services will have to be replaced with new money. We will work with a very broad state-wide coalition to get funding at the MN legislature for the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, but with a $6 billion deficit, prospects are not great. An increase in funding for services will allow us to provide a wider range of services. We will begin with HIRED placing residents in external subsidized intern/job settings. As soon as the commercial site in the building is chosen and the space finished for their use, these jobs will be added to the external opportunities. A Nicollet Square Connections Team (NSCT) has been created with members from Westminster and Plymouth. Their first task is to gather move-in resources such as kitchen supplies, dishes, sheets & towels and other items for new residents to have when they move in. Much of this will go with the residents when they move, so supplies will have to be gathered for future new residents. In addition, the NSCT will work with YouthLink staff and the residents to define and recruit for volunteer opportunities that will connect residents with church members as useful and appropriate. Both churches will recruit business owners and managers who can expand the range of job opportunities available to the residents. During the process of securing the neighborhood community organization approval, we signed a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) that sets out roles and responsibilities of the Nicollet Square residents and staff and of the neighborhood residents and businesses. The CBA calls for the creation of a joint implementation committee of neighborhood and Nicollet Square participants. We are now forming that committee that will work to successfully implement the program of Nicollet Square so it benefits both neighbors and NS residents.
| 134 weeks ago Douglas Mitchell updated this Competition Entry. | |
| 134 weeks ago Douglas Mitchell submitted this idea. |
Us