This January, Urban Homeworks began doing Restorative Circles with our residents and with our staff. Restorative Circles, sometimes called “Talking Circles” or “Peacemaking Circles”, are an Indigenous creation and practice. Circles can be used for a variety of reasons, but for UHW, our goal is to build and strengthen relationships between residents and to heal harms, increase accountability, embody antiracism, and foster connectivity between staff. We are grateful to work with the Conflict Resolution Center to host these circles and look forward to the growth of both groups over the next few months.

In addition to our Circles, UHW has already had 3 POD meetings this year with our residents! In January we discussed how the state government works, taking a special look at upcoming rent voucher and rent stabilization policies and how they might affect residents; in February we had a special guest from community give a presentation all about renter’s insurance; and this month we are hosting a special watch party of our Housing Justice Forum! It’s been a joy to do this work with our residents!

Attending rallies for Bring It Home, Minnesota, testifying at hearings for important legislation like HB 685, and meeting one-on-one with representatives—the UHW team has been hard at work on policy this year! Of special note, Temi Ogunrinde, UHW’s Equity & Engagement Director, testified at a February hearing of Bring It Home—check out Temi’s portion HERE.

It takes more than $350,000 in donor support to fund and fuel UHW’s Equity and Engagement work each year. Your gifts provide the resources to advocate, empower, and organize our neighbors toward a more equitable future. Though the year has just begun, we are already so proud of what we have done and especially proud of what is to come!