Between the years 2007 and 2008, 113 individuals, 37 of whom were children, utilized the housing services for the homeless provided by Northfield Community Action Center (CAC). As the CAC is the primary organization providing services to the homeless within Rice County, these figures are comprised of homeless individuals and families not only within Northfield, but also throughout the Rice County area.

IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS OF HOMELESSNESS

The federal definition provided by HUD, defines a homeless person as:

1. an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; and
2. an individual who has a primary nighttime residence that is —

i. a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations (including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing for the mentally ill);

ii. an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized; or

iii. a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings (Department of Housing and Urban Development.  2007. “Federal Definition of Homeless”)

The state of Minnesota defines homelessness in a broader sense, stating:

“The State of Minnesota defines as homeless any individual, unaccompanied youth or family that is without a permanent place to live that is fit for human habitation. Doubling-up is considered homeless if that arrangement has persisted less than 1 year.”

Doubling-up, called “couch-hopping” by one of the organizations interviewed, refers to a situation where an individual or family resides in another’s home temporarily.

Differences in definitions correlate with the source of funding (i.e. federal, state, or private), and subsequently determine which individuals can qualify for what homelessness programs and resources.  If a program is federally funded, for example, many of the individuals and families in Northfield may not be able to benefit from the program if they are homeless in the “doubling-up” sense.  A project assessing the current state of advocacy around changing the federal definition of homelessness to be more inclusive and the likeliness that this will change anytime soon could be quite useful.

RICE COUNTY HOMELESSNESS SERVICES

EMERGENCY HOUSING

CAC apartment: The CAC owns one apartment for a family to live in for up to two weeks.  A case manager meets with the family twice a week to help them locate work and housing and to find ways to prevent homelessness. Between 2007 and 2008, 18 families stayed in the apartment. Currently a waiting list exists, although the case manager we spoke with was unaware of the number.  The apartment is the only type of “homeless shelter” that Rice County offers.

Motel Stay:  The CAC will pay for a three-night stay at a motel for individuals or families who require emergency shelter.  Forty-seven people utilized this service between 2007 and 2008.

TRANSITIONAL HOUSING

CAC Transitional Housing: The CAC owns two units of transitional housing for those who are homeless, where the individual or family is able to stay for up to two years.  While in the transitional housing, the residents work with a case manager weekly.  The residents pay 30 percent of their income toward rent.  The CAC then puts half of this money away into a savings account for the family or individual to have when they move out of the transitional housing into other accommodations.  Participants must meet the federal definition of homelessness because a federal grant through HUD supports the program.

Chamomile Transitional Housing: Housing provided by Three Rivers Community Action, Inc.  Exact components unknown.

Ruth’s House: An organization that provides housing for women and families who have been made homeless due to domestic violence.  Ruth’s House consists of nine units of transitional housing.  Residents have weekly meetings with case managers. The units are all currently full, and as of February 2009, there were eleven to thirteen families on the waitlist.

PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING

Marilyn’s Place:  The Northfield CAC offers eight units of permanent supportive housing for homeless people who have been diagnosed with a mental illness.  This program provides case manage support as needed for the resident.  As with the Northfield CAC transitional housing, residents pay 30 percent of their income for rent.   Within this program, the CAC also works with the resident and a variety of other agencies and organizations to make sure he or she is accessing all the services available to him or her.

HOMELESSNESS PROJECTS

Project Home: An organization with which Northfield CAC collaborates, focusing on assisting people who have been homeless repeatedly or who have been homeless for a long period of time.  Clients are referred to Project Home by other organizations.  They receive intense case management, rental assistance, and other services needed for that particular individual so that he or she is successful in obtaining and remaining in a home.

Southeast Minnesota Continuum of Care: This is a collaboration between the Northfield CAC and the Three Rivers Community Action, Inc, whose mission is to “prevent, respond to, and help end homelessness in Southeastern Minnesota by coordinating services and maximizing resources” (Southeast Minnesota Continuum of Care pamphlet 2009). 

CONCLUSIONS

• The CAC’s emergency housing apartment is the only “homeless shelter” in Rice County
• Many of those in need of emergency shelter are consequently given a voucher for a three-day stay at a motel.
• After using up the motel voucher, people may be referred by the CAC to homeless shelters in nearby counties. However, recently individuals have been turned away from shelters as they are already full with people from their own county.
• Transitional and permanent supportive housing units in Rice County are full.  For those who qualify for Ruth’s House, there are eleven to thirteen families currently on the waitlist for an opening within one of the nine units.
• Funding is the primary limiting factor in creating additional services that are direly needed.
• Although the impacts of the economic downturn on homelessness are not yet completely known, the housing case manager at the CAC did cite an increase in requests for CAC housing services as foreclosures in the area increased. She also talked about how grant money that fund some of the homelessness services is running out.  Although there is little quantitative evidence illustrating an increase in homelessness, there will likely be an increased need as the effects of the economic downturn on housing security continue to grow.