AANJI AIMS TO PREVENT HOMELESSNESS

By Vivian LaMoore, Inaajimowin Editor

On August 6, 2024, several members of the staff of Aanjibimaadizing along with Mille Lacs Band Chief Executive Virgil Wind and other Mille Lacs Band Tribal leaders, leadership staff from both the federal and state Interagency Council on Homelessness, to discuss homelessness in tribal communities and the efforts the Mille Lacs Band is taking toward ending homelessness and the need for funding of the programs.

“We are here in the spirit of humility and openness,” Jeff Olivet, Executive Director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) said. Other members of the USICH in attendance were Katie Jennings and Beverley Ebersold. Members of the Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness were Cathy Ten Broeke, Mary Riegert Soyring, Elizabeth Dressel, and Dan Gregory.

As introductions were made around the room, Niigaanii Animikii Benesi Ikwe Tammy Moreland, Interim Director of Community Services for Aanjibimaadizing, explained her job is "helping people who are homeless and people who need shelter." Help is provided by administering a variety of grants to help people who are long- or short-term homeless. Access to funding is a top concern. Through Continuum of Care efforts in partnership with the Minnesota Tribal Collaborative, Aanjibimaadizing is able to access more funding. Moreland is the chair of the Collaborative.

“Homelessness doesn’t just show up in one can,” said Kristian Theisz, Interim Executive Director of Aanjibimaadizing. “Families have all kinds of different issues so [homelessness] shows up differently depending on what they have going on. As a group, we have to look at funds that can help in each of those areas.”

Theisz continued by explaining the currently available funding has limitations. Whether it is income, size of housing needed compared to the size of housing available, or geographic limitations, often Band members cannot check all of the boxes necessary to comply with grant funding. “For us, we want to make sure there is a broad spectrum of funding available to be able to help all of the people,” Theisz said.

The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness was originally authorized by Congress through Title II of the landmark Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 to serve as an independent establishment in the executive branch. The agency was most recently reauthorized by the 2009 Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act.

Olivet was appointed by the President of the United States. He has worked to prevent and end homelessness for more than 25 years as a street outreach worker, case manager, coalition builder, researcher, and trainer. He is the founder of Jo Consulting, and co-founder of Racial Equity Partners, and from 2010 to 2018, he served as CEO of C4 Innovations. He has worked extensively in the areas of homelessness and housing, health and behavioral health, HIV, education, and organizational development. Olivet has been the principal investigator on multiple research studies funded by private foundations and the National Institutes of Health. Olivet is deeply committed to social justice, racial equity, gender equality, and inclusion for all. He has a bachelor's from the University of Alabama and a master's from Boston College.

Olivet and the other members both the federal and state staff listened to the concerns of the Band regarding the unique needs of Band members in regards to homelessness. One major area of concern is access to re-entry facilities after incarceration. The poor timing of release notification from the Department of Corrections does not allow the Band to find adequate housing for the person as soon as they are released. “Just because the person is a felon, doesn’t change the fact that they are homeless,” Theisz said.

The state representative from the DOC said the state has started working on the issue stating they are working to ensure that no person released from any state-operated facility whether it is a correction facility or treatment center, is released into homelessness.

Discussion continued to revolve around other areas of concern including but not limited to issues of geographical locations, funding access, workforce housing, utilizing tiny houses, and the limitations and requirements of funding resources.

About The Minnesota Tribal Collaborative

Minnesota Tribal Nations have a long history of working to prevent and end homelessness. Through revisiting traditional values, the Collaborative works to address historical barriers and unique needs of tribal members and families to prevent and end homelessness. In 2006, several Minnesota Tribal Nations conducted a survey of homelessness in conjunction with the triennial Wilder statewide homeless survey. From the data collected, the northern Ojibwe nations decided to write plans to end homelessness. The reservation homeless survey and the Tribal plans to end homelessness were the first in the nation completed by Tribal Nations.

In early 2014, a group of housing authority and human services staff from several of the Northern tribes, along with some state staff and non-profit providers, began meeting regularly to learn together about new resources and share promising practices to meet the unique needs of Native Americans experiencing homelessness in Minnesota. Around this time, the Minnesota Legislature changed the eligibility for the Long Term Homeless Supportive Services grant and made Tribes eligible applicants for the first time. Per statute, a collaboration is prioritized to receive this funding. While honoring Tribal sovereignty, through a Memorandum of Understanding approved by the Tribal Councils of all participating Tribal Nations and the Mille Lacs Band Governing Body, five Tribes in Northern Minnesota (Bois Forte, Leech Lake Band, Mille Lacs, Red Lake, and White Earth) formed the Minnesota Tribal Collaborative to Prevent and End Homelessness. The Fond du Lac Band joined the Collaborative in 2018, Grand Portage and Upper Sioux joined in 2023, and Lower Sioux joined in early 2024.

Homelessness, including doubling up, substandard housing, and overcrowded conditions are a serious and seemingly intractable problem on many reservations. In Minnesota, American Indians are 30 times more likely to experience homelessness than white, non-Hispanic people. The Minnesota Tribal Collaborative was formed to apply for funding, work together, and create the resources necessary to end homelessness on Indian reservations for Native Americans throughout Minnesota.

The Collaborative has established equal decision-making roles with state agencies and the Continuum of Care regions regarding homeless planning issues.

In 2023, through advocacy with the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless, the Minnesota Tribal Collaborative was instrumental in getting tribal set-asides to address homelessness from the Minnesota Legislature.