Housing Rights and Economic Opportunities Were Focus of August's Immigrant and Refugee Affairs Forum

August’s Immigrant and Refugee Affairs Forum shared a lot of great information for community members regarding housing and eviction resources as well as upcoming programs aimed at small businesses and grant opportunities geared toward employment and training programs.

Eviction Moratorium Off Ramp

Alyssa Wetzel-Moore, director of Community Development for Minnesota Housing, kicked off our discussion with an overview of the Eviction Off-Ramp that was recently passed in the legislative session.

Now that the eviction moratorium has ended, starting June 30, tenants can be evicted if they are behind on rent and eligible for help but refuse to apply for rental assistance. Those who have requested assistance can’t be evicted while their request for help is being processed.

She also gave a list of important dates for renters to know regarding the off-ramp timeline:

• July 14th: This is the earliest day tenants can be evicted for materially violating lease agreements.

• August 13th: Landlords can terminate leases for the nonpayment of rent by tenants who are not eligible for COVID-19 rental assistance.

• September 12th: This is the earliest day tenants who are not eligible for rent assistance can be evicted.

• October 12th: The eviction moratorium’s protections are lifted except for eligible rentals who have pending COVID-19 rental assistance applications.

• June 1st, 2022: All protections are lifted.

If you think you might be eligible for rental assistance, go to RentHelpMN.org or call 211 for more information. You can find Somali, Hmong and Spanish translations on their website as well. If you have legal questions, visit LawHelpMN.org for additional information and legal resources.

Small Business Economic Development Legislative Update

Maureen Ramirez, director of DEED’s Office of Economic Opportunity, shared that $285 million for economic development programs was passed in the latest legislative budget. Some of the programs that were funded include:

The Main Street Economic Revitalization Program was awarded $80 million to provide funds to partner organizations to establish programs to support economic development and redevelopment projects that deliver the most economic impact in communities with the greatest needs. Once partnership organizations are selected and programs established, property owners, businesses and developers will have the opportunity to request assistance from partner organizations serving their community.

The Main Street COVID Relief Grant was awarded $70 million to provide small business relief grants ranging from $10,000 to $25,000 per business based on the number of employees. DEED’s application portal will open Fall of 2021. Businesses that have not received support from the previous state funded relief programs will be given priority over other applications.

The Small Business Partnership Grant Program was awarded $9.8 million in funds for grants to qualified Entrepreneurial Support Organizations (ESOs) to support the start-up, growth and success of Minnesota’s entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Competitive Grant RFPs Now Available

Marc Majors, director of DEED’s Employment and Training Programs, gave an overview of the available competitive grants and contracts that are currently accepting Requests for Proposals (RFPs).

The Workforce Development Fund has set aside $30 million in competitive grants and they are seeking as many diverse applicants as possible. Recent RFPs include the African Immigrant Community Grant Program, Pathways to Prosperity Grant Programs and the Southeast Asian Economic Disparities Grant Program. Current RFPs have a 45-day window for receiving applications. You can find available competitive grant RFPs on DEED’s website here.

Community Reviewers Needed!

DEED is looking for community members to serve on grant review panels for youth and adult workforce development. Training will be required and provided to those who participate, and all training will take place online.

You can find more information on how to apply to be a community reviewer on DEED’s website here.

If you missed this month’s forum, you can watch our discussion on DEED’s YouTube channel here.