Blog

June 1, 2021

People Oriented Development (POD Power)…

The first quarter of 2021 pushed us into new places of growth and strength. While 2020 was a challenging year of reacting to traumatic and confusing events, 2021 has been a time to build on the relationships and trust deepened throughout such a difficult time.

In this first quarter of 2021:

  • We hosted two virtual POD meetings with residents, with 23 residents attending (a POD is a group of UHW residents who live within two blocks or less of one another).
  • We distributed $250 to three PODs for February community-building activities.
  • Four of our residents attended a class hosted by our partner Hope Community to receive support in purchasing a duplex in the community.

We also paid out $125,000 to 70 different Minneapolis residents to help with overdue rent and utilities because of COVID-19 losses. Out of those individuals:

  • 50% were UHW residents
  • 25% were residents of Al Maa’uun housing (a partner organization we collaborated with)
  • 25% were undocumented families who did not qualify for government assistance earlier in the pandemic

We have begun training with 10 of our residents to better organize and leverage power within their community as we work together for equity and justice. The class was a part of the Virtual Housing Justice Forum hosted by Urban Homeworks in partnership with elected officials, community members, and partner organizations on May 20th over Zoom. Visit www.urbanhomeworks.org/hjf to see highlights from the forum.

We’re grateful to directly hear the stories and see the impacts YOUR SUPPORT has in our community, like:

  • The person who tears up every time she recounts how UHW helped her after the Drake fire left her and her five kids homeless;
  • The family who, upon receiving their rent support check, invited us in and shared stories from the whole family about how COVID impacted them;
  • And all the families who are grateful to have a safe home for their children to study and do school work thanks to the support you and our partner NAZ (Northside Achievement Zone) provide.
June 1, 2021

A message from our Executive Director…

Peace and Liberation Urban Homeworks Residents, Families, Donors, and Supporters!

It has been two full months since I officially stepped into the role as Executive Director and seven months since accepting the post as Interim. Do I get less sleep these days? Absolutely. In the last two months, some of our residents started the Neighborhoods Now course through the University of Minnesota’s Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA), while others concluded a homeownership course offered through our partners at Hope Community. We elected two board co-chairs – introductions coming soon. We closed on our office sale to Juxtaposition Arts to aid in their community art-space expansion. And in this first quarter, we saw our number of families enrolled in the Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ) reach 25% – and we will not stop there! This quarter has been filled with opportunities for us to model our values – to model the core of our mission and vision. We have developed new partnerships and strengthened old ones. In quarter one, we asked ourselves what it truly means to Neighbor in times like these. Neighbor is one of our longstanding Core Values.

To Neighbor means humbly accepting that there is ongoing work on oneself and a conscientious effort to do that work. It means stepping up and responding to the suffering of others with mutual aid and support. Step Up is seeing a need and acting, in partnership, alongside those who have that need. We believe in stepping up in ways that honor our communities, not silence or overshadow their voices with our own. We apply our Core Values internally and to the way we landlord our rental units, develop housing and people, and steward the communities that have trusted us to provide dignified, affordable housing for 26 years. As paired with our mission and vision, our values drive us to work on dignified, affordable housing while standing against all forms of racism and systemic oppression that our communities face daily. This is what it means to Step Up and Neighbor. As we work to increase the number of affordable rental opportunities across the city and make homeownership more accessible to those we currently rent to, we will continue to stand in solidarity with the marginalized and oppressed just as Jesus did when He walked this earth.

Thank you to everyone who took a moment to celebrate us as we moved forward into the future with a renewed sense of purpose and passion. Thank you to our residents who continue to demonstrate belief in our work by sharing your stories and journeys with us. You show up and continue to build community regularly. We are inspired by and so grateful to you for your demonstration of grit and resolve. And thank you to those of you who signified your support with an increased donation in quarter one. We recognize the courage it takes to have your spending reflect your values. We get this done with each one of you. For change comes by us, together. Quarter two is already off to a promising start!

Until next time – may we all continue to work for justice, may we all experience peace,

AsaleSol Young,

Executive Director

May 24, 2021

Learn more about Danyika Leonard, Urban Homeworks Co-Chair

Danyika Leonard joined the Urban Homeworks board in the Spring of 2020 and began serving as the board co-chair in April 2021.

She is the Principal and Co-Founder of the Ujima Collective, which exists to create solutions and empower those seeking to address issues impacting the Black community. Their work encompasses collaborative efforts of educators, organizers, artists, youth workers, and teachers committed to doing community safety, equity, and racial justice work.

Danyika is also a policy director at Education Evolving, where she advocates for policies that clear barriers and create opportunities for educators to design student-centered learning experiences that equitably honor the unique assets, interests, identities, and aspirations of all students—and prepare them to thrive in the 21st century.

She sees herself as a restorative practitioner by calling, and social worker by trade. Her work has focused on building innovative collaboratives of state, county, and local organizations for system and policy innovation for educational achievement and holistic family success. She has experience in community organizing, housing & workforce development, policy work, and youth and family empowerment, and design thinking. As an advanced results-based facilitator and Art of Hosting Practitioner, she is passionate about bringing people together to get things done.

Danyika holds a Master of Public Affairs degree from the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs and is a 2016 Roy Wilkins Community Policy Fellow. She lives in North Minneapolis with her husband and two children.

May 24, 2021

Learn more about Claudia Oxley, Urban Homeworks Co-Chair

Claudia Oxley, Co-Chair, joined the UHW Board in 2020 and stepped in as Interim Chair in November. Her 10-year relationship with Urban Homeworks arose out of her desire for others to have access to home environments in which children and adults can thrive. She believes that UHW’s active engagement in legislative policies that eliminate racist and economic barriers to housing and wealth building is critical to furthering the kin-dom of Jesus in our community.

Now retired, Claudia served as a leader of significant organizational changes in several businesses within U.S. Bank and other large corporations in the Twin Cities for almost 30 years. She has an MBA in Finance from the University of Minnesota. She chairs another non-profit board and is a member of First Covenant Church of Minneapolis. Claudia lives in St. Louis Park where she plays with dirt and calls it gardening.

April 21, 2021

A collective sigh of relief…

Yesterday, many of us experienced a collective sigh of relief. An exhale after a long-held breath. We breathed. The collective breath was deep, knowing the work is far from over as we bury 20-year-old Daunte Wright and mourn the loss of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant.

But strength and resiliency are not lacking in our communities. Continually, we experience and witness neighbors in North and South Minneapolis show up for each other, hold each other, and acknowledge the pain and trauma these moments inflict on all of us – whether conscious of it or not.

At Urban Homeworks, we ask ourselves what it means to neighbor in times like these. Neighbor is one of our longstanding Core Values. To us, to neighbor means humbly accepting that there is ongoing work to be done on oneself and a conscientious effort to do that work. Another Core Value that guides us is Step Up, which is seeing the need and taking action. We apply our Core Values internally and to the way we landlord our rental units, develop housing and people and steward the communities that have trusted us to provide dignified, affordable housing for 26 years. As paired with our mission and vision, our values drive us to work on dignified, affordable housing while standing against all forms of racism and other oppressions that our communities face daily. We must speak out. It is our duty to stand in solidarity with the marginalized and oppressed just as Jesus did when he walked this earth.

Jesus did not look away, nor did he minimize the voice or struggles of the oppressed. He acted in solidarity, as he confronted any notions of profit over people. As he developed close relationships with those the dominating society had rejected and demeaned, he modeled loving activism; he modeled Step Up, and he modeled Neighbor. He did so until the dominating culture deemed him such a threat to their way of life, to their systems of greed and oppression, that they killed him, and justified his murder for public consumption. The actions Jesus chose show us that he not only valued life of the soul, but valued the life of the body, as well. Jesus showed us with his life that the pursuit of justice is an act of care and love for the entire human being.

Do not look away as your neighbors mourn, as your neighbors grow disheartened knowing that while Chauvin was convicted on two counts of murder and one count of manslaughter – police across this nation murdered 64 people since testimony began on March 29th. (See NY Times article for reference.)

Do not look away or cast blame, but rather Step Up and Neighbor with us. We cannot turn our backs when those paid to protect and serve us, only protect and serve some while senselessly murdering or assaulting others. At Urban Homeworks, we believe Jesus would not look away, turn his back, or throw shame or blame on those being oppressed. We are guided by the model of activism that Jesus demonstrated in the Bible as we stand with our neighbors and fight for their collective voices to address injustice.

At Urban Homeworks, we feel the relief of the verdict and the weight of all the work still needing to be done. We are so grateful for this incredibly resilient and compassionate community. Thank you to all those who reached out directly with words of support and with supplies and cash donations when we put the call out in preparation for the conclusion of the Chauvin trial.

Tomorrow afternoon, less than one block from Urban Homeworks, the family of Daunte Wright will mourn the young person they lost. In partnership with Brother’s Empowered, Appetite for Change, Raising Cane, and Restoration Incorporated, we will be there providing sustenance and support. We invite our larger community to volunteer and join us in this effort to hold sacred space. If you wish to help set up or distribute food, please contact Marque Jensen, our Equity and Engagement Manager, at 612.208.8104.

In gratitude for the Urban Homeworks Community, and in solidarity with all those fighting for systemic justice,

AsaleSol Young,

Executive Director

Urban Homeworks

March 25, 2021

We’re hiring!

Urban Homeworks is seeking an upbeat, dynamic, highly organized, detail oriented, eloquent and persuasive individual for grant writing and project management at an exceptionally busy, growing community development organization.

Primary Responsibilities:

  • Responsible for supporting the Development Department in the research, preparation and submission of all proposals and grant applications.
  • Maintain an organized system for tracking ongoing and upcoming grant projects and prospects.
  • Collaborate with program staff to develop project budgets and identify specific objectives and workplans for potential grant-funded projects.
  • Responsible for writing proposals for both unrestricted operating revenue and restricted projects and in submitting timely and accurate reports for all existing grant funded programs/projects.
  • Conduct prospect research for all grants and preparing written profiles of funders.
  • Manage grants budget, calendar, and strategy in partnership with Development Director.
  • Write clear, persuasive, concise grant proposals and meet deadlines for a robust grant schedule.

Specific Responsibilities:

  • Assemble grant requests, including letters, proposals, budgets and presentations
  • Establish and maintain current information, contact and relationships with foundation representatives and program officers
  • Maintain grant calendar to ensure timely submission of letters of inquiry, proposal deadlines and reports (other reporting and management documents as required)
  • Work with Development Director to conduct prospect research – and prepare prospect reports
  • Prioritize projects to keep multiple projects moving in a timely manner, meet deadlines and manage supplemental material required for proposals
  • Work with programs and Development Department to provide current program data, statistics and local statistics for grant content
  • Research data for populations served including needs, trends and other resources in the area
  • Maintain and provide timely reporting data for all grants (progress reports, year-end, financial reporting, data collection from programs and special reports as required)
  • Proofread funding documents
  • Work with Development Director and team to conduct all the duties for grants submissions and maintenance

Qualifications:

  • Committed resolve for the Urban Homeworks mission and values for the communities in which Urban Homeworks is implementing its community development strategies
  • Ability to articulate and support the mission of Urban Homeworks and its programs
  • BA/BS in Non-profit, Communication, related field OR 3-5 years of relevant grant writing experience
  • Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communications skills
  • Proficient in MS Office Suite, Raiser’s Edge, and Excel
  • Ability to meet multiple, concurrent deadlines under pressure
  • Ability to accept and mange fluctuating priorities with a positive and energetic attitude
  • Willing to work some flexible hours, including some weekends and evenings
  • Ability to effectively present Urban Homeworks’ program information and respond to questions from funders and potential donors
  • Enjoy working in a service-oriented, collaborative team environment

 

Click HERE to apply!

March 5, 2021

Important Announcement from Interim Board Chair, Claudia Oxley

March 2, 2021

On behalf of the Urban Homeworks Board of Directors, I am delighted to announce our unanimous appointment of AsaleSol Young as Executive Director.

Our decision reflects our confidence and appreciation for AsaleSol’s leadership, her powerful strategy for the organization the strength of her commitment to our community, and the vision of racial justice and equity that is at the heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Along with the rest of the remarkable UHW team, AsaleSol will continue to passionately pursue excellence in affordable housing and co-creation of avenues for BIPOC wealth building while simultaneously advocating for eliminating structural barriers at the local and state-wide level.

We are excited to continue this journey with AsaleSol!

We also want to thank all of you who have supported us during this transition, expressing your commitment to our shared vision. Now is not the time to ease up or sit back. There are both daunting challenges and tremendous opportunities in 2021. It will take all of us, together, to create the world we long to have realized.

We are excited and delighted to continue this journey with AsaleSol and with you!

 

 

With great appreciation,

Claudia Oxley

Interim Urban Homeworks Board Chair

March 3, 2021

Housing Justice is Racial Justice: The historical impact of racial discrimination on access to housing.

Minnesota has one of the highest homeownership rates in the nation for white folks, while this rate is one of the worst in the nation for Black households.1 This is but one example of how systemic racism persists from the long history of racial discrimination and white supremacy in the United States.  

Housing discrimination dates to the 1930s when communities built racial covenants to reserve land for white people exclusively.2 Maps like the one pictured here were colored based on the racial landscape of major cities in America. Banks and mortgage lenders then used these maps to reject loans for credit-worthy borrowers based on their race or location.3

 

(Credit: Mapping Inequality)

It was not until 1962 when the Minnesota State Legislature ended these discriminatory treaties and 1968 when they became illegal nationwide with The Fair Housing Act. While this was a step in the right direction, it did not repair the damage that had been done in keeping wealth-building tools like real estate from BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities. As well, it did not prevent individual lenders and sellers from acting from their own personal biases, which too often still exist today.  

An oversimplified analogy of the historical impact of racial discrimination commonly used is with the game of Monopoly. Imagine playing Monopoly for 400 years, never being able to purchase property or collect $200 when you pass Go. Then one day, those restrictions are lifted, rendering you now “equal” to the other players. The other players who owned all the property and were always able to collect their $200 have built up so much wealth over the years that the rule change did not fix any economic disparity. Not only that, but the generations to follow inherited all the wealth of those players creating generations of economic disparity to come.  

This explains why BIPOC communities have a higher percentage of their populations living under poverty levels than their white counterparts today. Of the total 382,621  individuals who make up the Black population in Minnesota, 26.8% live below that poverty line (2019). For our Indigenous communities, this figure is 30.2% and it sits at 14.9% for Hispanics.3   These are the same communities most likely to become long-term renters who also struggle due to low wages. Inherited housing disparities can result in greater instability when trying to afford monthly rent payments, resulting in evictions and homelessness. A study recently conducted by CURA – The University of Minnesota‘s Center for Urban and Regional Affairs – found that increased rent rates reflect underlying racism. Landlords raise rents at higher rates for African Americans across the Twin Cities than for any other groups.5   

Equity’s Role 

Racial Justice and Housing Justice are inextricably linked. At Urban Homeworks in 2019, 52% of renters and 55% of the people who purchased homes identified themselves as BIPOC.  In our vision of catalyzing powerful people by using equitable housing as a platform to build community, we use equitable housing as a platform to break up disparities by providing safe and affordable homes and integrating people-oriented development (POD). We are passionate about eliminating housing disparities and elevating the voices of BIPOC communities to create solutions from within their neighborhoods. 

In addition to centralizing the community in our work, we are actively working toward becoming an anti-racist organization. We are committed to providing opportunities for our staff, volunteers, supporters, and the broader community to learn how to take ownership over the role we can play in dismantling systems of oppression. One way that we are going to be doing this is through regular emails that prompt you to Take Action. If you would like to be included on our list to receive periodic Take Action emails, please visit this link to sign up.   

TAKE ACTION HERE

Sources: 

  1. Divided decade: how the housing market Changed in the last 10 years –  https://www.apmresearchlab.org/housingcost 
  2. Mapping Prejudice – Mapping Prejudice (umn.edu)
  3. Redlining’s legacy: Maps are gone, but the problem hasn’t disappeared – https://www.cbsnews.com/news/redlining-what-is-history-mike-bloomberg-comments/
  4. A project made possible by MNCompass.org  
  5. “The Illusion of Choice: Evictions and Profit in North Minneapolis” full report | The Illusion of Choice (umn.edu) 

 

February 4, 2021

With Deep Gratitude

Community – what a year!! We kicked off 2020 with big plans to celebrate our 25th anniversary as an organization. But as the coronavirus made its way through our communities, we were forced to shift our celebratory agenda and dig deeper into community relief, sustainability, health, and wellness. Then, the public lynching of George Floyd, a national outcry against racial injustice, and white nationalist terrorism reminded us all that the violent seeds of white supremacy remain in full bloom today.

Internally, we faced tough decisions. We were challenged to meet the moment head-on and make our stance on racial Justice and our fight for housing equity unmistakable and resolute, even when faced with opposition. What would Jesus have done? Jesus, who stated it is harder for the rich to enter his kingdom, Jesus who aggressively confronted the temple priests who cared more for themselves than the people’s health and wellness, Jesus, born an outsider. Jesus’ fight on earth was to ensure that the poor, the marginalized, and the dejected were not forgotten, but deeply and genuinely loved, protected, and cared for: “no need among us.”

There was nothing light or casual about 2020. The year demanded deep and focused attention on the places where our systems fail our wage poor, fail our elders, fail our Black and Indigenous, fail our children, fail the sustainability of this planet. There is sadness in my heart today for the ways too many of us refuse to show up for each other.

Thank you for being a light and for perpetuating hope during such a challenging year.  It is because of you that we can fight on. Look what we accomplished TOGETHER in 2020! Look how our collective light has shown:

  • We set a goal to reach 25 new Stability Makers (monthly donors) in honor of our 25th anniversary. We secured 42 new Stability Makers and increased our monthly revenue by over $2,000 a month.
  • With the shutdowns, residents were losing work and struggling to meet their rent. We had one month to raise $127,000 for rent relief, and we raised a total of $159,100! 
  • In partnership with Broadway Pizza and staff donations, we delivered pizzas to over 140 households to spread some love and let residents know that we were thinking about them.
  • After the murder of George Floyd, local uprisings shuttered essential businesses, and residents struggled to access groceries and other necessities for their families. Hundreds of donations poured into our office that staff distributed almost immediately. 
  • We hosted our first-ever virtual Perpetuate the Hope in August, with a fantastic turnout from our Urban Homeworks family! We were challenged on what equity looks like; we learned from community members and leaders at Urban Homeworks; we heard the organization’s story through the lens of our staff.
  • We raised $155,000 together through the Perpetuate the Hope event! 
  • COVID-19 prevented us from delivering our annual Thanksgiving baskets to each household, so we set a goal to raise $4,500 to purchase Gratitude Gift Cards for each UHW family. You blew our goal out of the water, and we raised $7,660!

In December, community partner Bell Lumber & Pole challenged us to raise $50,000 in new, renewed, or increased gifts to be matched dollar for dollar in one month. You showed up and collectively donated $104,611, exceeding our goal and securing our match of $50,000 for a total of $154,611.

All these incredible highlights were in addition to the ways that you personally show up every year to support our general operations. Whether you donated $5 or $50,000, you helped bring a collective light to an otherwise dark year. Your words of encouragement, often alongside increased donations, engendered hope and kept us moving forward. We only make progress together. We only manifest hope – together.

Thank you for your light. May we shine on in 2021!

 

 

 

AsaleSol Young,

Interim Executive Director

 

 

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