Minnesota advocates are celebrating one of the most successful state legislative sessions for affordable housing in years. In May, the legislature and Governor Mark Dayton (D) approved $37.5 million in the state’s bonding bill to address housing needs, the largest bonding commitment the state has made to housing.

The victory followed two consecutive years of lawmakers leaving affordable housing funds out of the bonding bill. Advocates learned from legislators that competing messages from the housing and homelessness advocacy communities negatively influenced efforts to secure a commitment to fund their programs. To improve their prospects for this session, advocates collaborated with Minnesota Housing, the state’s housing agency, and issued a single bonding request for FY13.

Leading the advocacy campaign were the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless and the Minnesota Housing Partnership (MHP), both NLIHC state coalition partners, plus the Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers and Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. Together, these organizations initiated more than 450 meetings with lawmakers and gained the support of the legislature’s Republican leadership and the Democratic governor.

Advocates utilized media strategies to support their organizing activities and raise the visibility of housing and homelessness concerns. These strategies included the “Homes for All” video (see Memo, 4/20) and activities to promote state-level data contained in NLIHC’s Out of Reach report, which received coverage in local television, radio, and print media. Advocates also produced and promoted a video featuring “Bill Ding,” an affordable housing mascot they created to urge viewers to contact their state representatives and senators to support housing in the bonding bill.

The state housing agency will allocate $30 million to preserve federally assisted housing, develop supportive housing, and support foreclosure recovery through new rental housing or community land trusts. Only five times in the last 22 years has the state appropriated an amount above $5 million in bond proceeds to Minnesota Housing. In addition, $5.5 million will be used to repair public housing, and $2 million will be spent to renovate a facility for women experiencing domestic violence.

“With our communications, field work and lobbying all coming together, this was a campaign that worked on many fronts,” said Chip Halbach, MPH’s executive director. “The need for investment in housing as community infrastructure resonated across the political spectrum, from progressives to Tea Partiers.”

This legislative success has encouraged housing and homeless advocates to form an alliance, “Homes for All,” to continue coordinated outreach efforts throughout the 2012 campaign season.

Click here to view video of Bill Ding, Minnesota’s affordable housing mascot.

For more information, contact Chip Halbach, MHP Executive Director: chalbach@mhponline.org