“Home on the Streets” Minneapolis Mayoral Forum

First Universalist Church, with assistance from the League of Women Voters, will be hosting a forum for Minneapolis mayoral candidates focusing on issues of homelessness: the presence of homeless individuals in the community, sleeping in public, community livability, access to shelter, and interaction with resources. This forum, which will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the sanctuary at First Universalist Church, will be moderated by Monica Nilsson, a local advocate for the homeless, and is being organized by long-time members of First Universalist, Barb and Gary Melom.

Candidates will be encouraged to demonstrate a depth of knowledge that shows their ability to be a leader in multi-agency efforts to address homelessness. Questions related to affordable housing will be deferred to a forum at Plymouth Congregational Church on Oct. 2, sponsored by Make Homes Happen.

The Star Tribune has reported that the 3,125 homeless people identified in Minneapolis this year represent an overall increase in homelessness by 231 people over the last 10 years. How did this happen, despite significantly intensified efforts to combat homelessness?

The Office to End Homelessness reports that the number of persons identified as chronically homeless in Minneapolis dropped from 919 in 2009 to 360 in 2016. What issues are at the base of chronicity and how should they be addressed?

What considerations are most important to the mayor’s leadership role in addressing homelessness?

“The measure of our progress is not whether we add to the abundance of those who have much. It is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”  – FDR Monument, Washington, DC

Co-Sponsors: First Universalist Church of Minneapolis, Street Voices of Change in collaboration with the Downtown Congregations to End Homelessness, Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative, Simpson Housing Services, The SAFE Group, Peace House Community, Our Saviour’s Housing, St. Stephen’s Human Services, St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church, and Hats for the Homeless.