Issue Position: Affordable Housing

Issue Position

Housing is a human right. Without safe and stable housing, it is hard for families to maintain their physical and mental health, jobs, and an education. We're facing a housing crisis in Minneapolis, which often manifests itself in the displacement of Black women & their families, along with LGBTQ+ youth. I will advocate for the state to be a good partner in providing safe, clean, and affordable housing for everyone from seniors, to low-income families, to working professionals. I want to see us build more public housing, mixed income neighborhoods, and increase pathways to home ownership especially for BIPOC communities.

The housing crisis is now exacerbated by COVID. Until the pandemic is over, the more robust moratorium on evictions must be maintained. Resuming evictions will only put people on the street in the middle of a pandemic. And with the brutal winters in Minnesota, I will act with the morality and urgency this issue demands. The state must continue to provide resources to cancel rent and mortgages so that people are not saddled with debt at the end of the pandemic. Working together, we can implement stronger eviction-prevention programs and increase legal representation so that more people can stay in their homes.​​​​

Homelessness is not born in a vacuum. I will focus on making sure that there are enough resources to address workforce development so that people can be trained to secure a job, increase the minimum wage to a living wage so that people can afford a place to live, as well as provide greater access and coverage for mental health care and addiction recovery so that people can keep and maintain their homes.
I believe in expanding or establishing programs that allow senior citizens to stay in their own homes. As development increases around the state, communities must have a more binding say on the types of housing that developers create to secure more affordable housing.

Source