ST. PAUL, MN –On Monday, January 24, the House Housing Finance and Policy Committee will be holding a hearing to address housing for families with disabilities. The hearing will focus on a bill authored by Rep. Karen Clark (DFL – Minneapolis), Chair of the Housing Committee, that would provide funding for two organizations in Minnesota.
“This issue was brought to my attention by Somali families in my area that are constantly being evicted from their rental housing as a result of their child’s disability,” said Clark. “Families that include children with severe forms of Autism in particular have dealt with these challenges.
The bill would create a pilot program for fiscal year 2015 that would provide homeownership opportunities for up to 13 families through the City of Lakes Community Land Trust and Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. Eligible families would need to have one child under the age of 19 with a medically diagnosed disability and have faced housing instability as renters due to that disability over the past two years.
The total cost of the program would be $1.2 million, with $600,000 going to each organization. Unused funds would be available in fiscal year 2016 as well.
WHO: -Housing Finance and Policy Committee
-Families impacted by housing instability
WHERE: Basement, State Office Building
WHEN: 12:30PM, January 27, 2014