How We Are Taking Action for Housing Equity
Carla Godwin thinks a lot about the challenges young people face when growing into full adulthood. She thinks even more about those facing young people who are also aging out of the foster care system.
“Young adulthood is an uncertain time for anyone,” said Godwin. “But for foster youth, their experience of home and support has been disrupted, which means young adulthood comes with additional challenges.”
Studies suggest more than a third of all young people who age out of foster care experience homelessness at least once before 26. That’s where organizations like PERIS Foundation come in. PERIS manages PERIS Hill, a building near Hennepin and Franklin in Minneapolis that provides one-bedroom apartments and efficiencies for young people aging out of the foster care system.
But it’s not just a place to live. PERIS Hill also provides supportive housing, which takes affordable housing to the next level by offering residents important additional services. At PERIS, program and support staff are onsite from 9 a.m. until 11 p.m. to build relationships and help residents navigate their transition from foster care to adulthood.
Photo courtesy of PERIS Foundation
Godwin, who serves as director of the PERIS Foundation, hopes the development can be a model for serving a specific population at risk of experiencing homelessness due to inequitable systems. “There are important benefits to expanding the affordable housing model to one that goes beyond just providing a place to live,” said Godwin. “It’s a more expensive model, but increasing housing stability for these young people is worth it.”
Earlier this year, the Minneapolis Foundation awarded PERIS Foundation $100,000 to support operations at the building.
The grant is just the latest example of how the Minneapolis Foundation invests in housing justice. Through our competitive grant programs, we strive to advance equity in education, economic mobility, and the environment—all issues that intersect with housing needs in our community.
“Ending homelessness in Minnesota requires a thriving supportive housing sector,” said Chris LaTondresse, Beacon’s President and CEO. “We’re grateful to the Minneapolis Foundation for investing in efforts to launch a coalition that, if successful, will help ensure Minnesota remains a national leader on ending homelessness through supportive housing.”
These grants build on the OneMPLS Fund’s 2023 awards and on its inaugural grant round in 2019, both of which focused on housing.
“The need for affordable housing in Minnesota is well documented, but often people need more than rents or mortgages within an affordable range,” said Patrice Relerford, Vice President of Collective Impact and Giving at the Minneapolis Foundation. “Supportive housing adds a layer of services for people that will help ensure they can remain in that housing.”
To that end, PERIS was one of three organizations that received funding for supportive housing work from the Minneapolis Foundation’s OneMPLS Fund. The others were the Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans and Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative.
Photos courtesy of PERIS Foundation and Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans (MACV)
Our other investments in housing include:
- Joining the GroundBreak coalition, a group of more than 40 corporate, civic, and philanthropic leaders committed to closing homeownership gaps between white and Black residents. The racial gap in homeownership in Minneapolis-St. Paul is larger than in any metro area in the country. To date, coalition partners have committed more than $1 billion to the effort, including $10 million from the Minneapolis Foundation.
- Awarding $90,000 in grants to six organizations through Fourth Generation, a giving circle we host that brings together rising leaders to gain hands-on experience in philanthropy. The focus of this year’s giving was housing equity.
- Hosting a pop-up giving circle this spring to give newcomers a look at how philanthropy works. With a match from the Foundation, that group gave more than $11,000 to Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid to fund legal services for people facing evictions.
These giving circles are part of the Foundation’s work to foster a community of generosity. “Our job is not to unilaterally decide which organizations to fund,” said Sara Lueben, Director of Collective Giving. “It’s to bring people together to learn where the most critical needs are.
“Our Fourth Generation leaders saw an important issue—housing—and set out to learn more. That learning led them to identify the organizations we’re funding.”
In addition to the grantmaking that the Minneapolis Foundation facilitates through endowed funds and collective giving circles, our community of 1,500+ fundholders has directed more than $23 million to housing efforts in the past five years.
“As a foundation, we talk a lot about building a community of generosity,” said R.T. Rybak, the Foundation’s President and CEO. “We’re honored to contribute a small part to help the real heroes working to make sure all our neighbors can have a safe place to call home.”
