PPNA joins forces with the Longfellow Community Council to offer direct rental assistance to 32 Longfellow renters this fall.
Resources are scarce
Last month, PPNA received the highest number of applications ever for the Renter Support Fund. 301 cost-burdened renters from across Minneapolis applied to receive $900 in rental assistance through the program. We could only fund four.
Renters across Minnesota are struggling to pay back $144 million in rent debt. Each month, the number of eviction filings continues to rise, especially after the remaining protections of our state’s eviction moratorium ended in June 2022. The HOME Line tenant hotline reports record-breaking numbers of calls from tenants about eviction and displacement. And without any funding at the state level, resources for renters are difficult to find.
If we had any doubt that the housing crisis was in full swing, here’s the proof.
Creative solutions and partnerships
PPNA has partnered with other neighborhood organizations in the past. Last year, the Lyndale Neighborhood contributed funding to support 12 renters in the Lyndale Neighborhood. The Phillips West Neighborhood Organization also funded 20 renters towards the end of the year.
This year, we are excited to announce our biggest neighborhood partnership yet: The Longfellow Community Council (LCC) is contributing over $28,000 to support 32 cost-burdened renters living in the Greater Longfellow Community. For the remainder of the year, PPNA will administer the Longfellow funds through the Renter Support Fund. PPNA has the existing program infrastructure and staff capacity, and Longfellow has funds in-hand that they want to give to renters in their community. It’s a great combination!
Seeking additional funding partners
We are excited to be partnering with the Longfellow Community Council. We also look forward to future collaborations as a way to sustain the Renter Support Fund — and cost-burdened renters in Minneapolis — while we work to identify a more permanent funding source.
Do you know of or work for an organization that wants to support renters in the community? Consider a partnership with the Renter Support Fund!
Contact Julia at julia@ppna.org or 612-446-4661 to learn more.