Welcome  to  Ending  Student  Homelessness, a  podcast  that  brings  together  folks  who  are committed  to  understanding  and  finding  housing  solutions. I  am  Misty  Blue,  a  researcher  at the  University  of  Minnesota's Center  for  Advanced  Studies  and  Child  Welfare, and  I've  had  the  honor  of  interviewing a  series  of  guests  committed  to  this  work. I  hope  you  enjoy  today's  conversation with  Charlotte  Kinsley. Charlotte  Kinsley  is  the  homeless  highly  mobile  Manager for  Minneapolis  Public  Schools, where  she  supports  students and  families  experiencing  homelessness. Over  the  past  20  years, she  has  developed  programming  and  initiatives  in family  shelters  and  supportive housing  facilities  in  Minneapolis. Her  focus  in  this  work  has been  to  support  the  development  of young  people  and  to  advocate  for the  importance  of  stable  housing  for  all  families. She  currently  serves  as  co  chair  of the  Henneb  County  Family Coordinated  Entry  Leadership  Committee, and  as  a  member  of  the  operations  board for  Henebon  County's  continuum  of  care. She  helps  coordinate  the Stable  Home  Stable  Schools  initiative, which  includes  a  recent  expansion through  a  homework  sort  of  home  grant. Well,  welcome.  Thank  you  for  being here  and  joining  me  in  this  conversation  today. Yeah,  thank  you  for  having  me. Can  you  please  introduce  yourself  to  our  listeners? Yeah.  So  my  name  is  Charlotte  Kinsley. I  use  she,  her  pronouns. I  am  the  homeless  and  highly  mobile  manager for  Minneapolis  Public  Schools. Can  you  please  describe  your  work  for  us? Absolutely.  I  work  with  staff at  Minneapolis  Public  Schools to  support  our  students who  are  experiencing  homelessness. So  I  have  a  small  team  of  folks  who  work tirelessly  to  identify  and  enroll and  support  families  who  are  experiencing  homelessness. And  then  also  really  just  across  the  district, work  to  raise  awareness  about  the  strengths  and needs  of  our  students  who  are  experiencing homelessness  as  a  district, move  us  to  a  place  where  we  are really  educating  those  students and  supporting  those  students. Our  goal  of  our  work  is  really  twofold. Part  of  it  is  around  stabilizing  families, really  working  to  connect  them with  resources  for  stability, access  to  shelter,  those  pieces that  really  either  prevent or  end  an  episode  of  homelessness. And  then  also, while  a  family  or  a  student  is  experiencing  homelessness, really  making  sure  that  their education  needs  continue  to  be  met. And  that  we,  as  a  school  and  as  a  district, are  supporting  them  as  much  as possible  in  the  midst  of  an  episode  of  homelessness. It  sounds  like  timing  is  super  appropriate, super  important  in  your  work and  also  proximity  to  families. So  making  sure  that  you  stay  in tune  with  the  families  that  you're  working  with. What  are  some  ways  that  you  and  your  team  do  that? Yeah.  Yeah,  you're  right. It  is  really  important, particularly  when  we  have  families who  are  maybe  moving  from  out  of state  or  are  new  to  enroll in  our  district  or  are  switching  schools. It's  really  important  that  we minimize  the  leg  for  those  students and  minimize  disruption  to their  education  as  much  as  possible.  So  you're  right. It  is  really  critical that  we  are  identifying  those  students right  away  and  enrolling  them  with  Mckinney  Vento. The  rights  of  those  students  are  protected, so  they  have  a  right  to  immediate  enrollment. They  have  a  right  to  transportation back  to  their  school  of  origin. If  we  have  a  family  who ends  up  becoming  homeless  and  doubles up  or  is  couch  hopping  in  Brooklyn  Park? Brooklyn  Center,  like  we  have to  transport  that  student  back  to their  same  school  if  that's  in  their  best  interest. Really  important  that  both  our  district and  all  schools  and  districts are  really  responsive  to students  in  the  midst  of  that  mobility. We  do  that  a  number  of  different  ways. We  have  staff  that  work  on site  at  people  serving  people  and  our  other  shelters. When  a  family  comes  into  shelter, we  really  quickly  know  if  they're  not  already  enrolled. We  get  them  enrolled  or are  just  needing  new  transportation. We  can  quickly  get  that  set  up, but  then  school  social  workers  are a  point  of  contact  in  the  school. They  also  really  support that  quick  responsiveness  and submitting  a  new  transportation  request. When  a  move  happens,  we  also have  a  contract  with  taxis  so  that  for  our  students who  are  either  moving  so regularly  that  our  transportation  system  just  can't keep  up  or  for  some  other  reason our  transportation  process  isn't  working  for  them. We  can  utilize  those  on  call  ride  services for  those  students  to  make  sure that  their  schooling  is  not  interrupted. It's  so  great  to  hear all  of  the  ways  that  families  can  be  supported. It  sounds  like  there's  a  lot  of  teamwork  that  happens, a  lot  of  people  working  together  to  lift  up families  who  are  going  through  a  really  tough  moment. Yeah.  Yeah,  it's  true. I  will  just  say  one  more  thing  about  that, is  that  even  with  the  protections  of  Mckinney  Vento, we  know  that  students  education continues  to  be  interrupted because  of  housing  instability. You  have  that  transportation,  right? Even  with  that  last  year, 65%  of  our  students  who  were  identified  as  homeless and  highly  mobile  ended the  year  in  the  same  school  they  started  in. Only  65%  that's  a  lot  of  movement. And  we  know  that  school  stability  really  matters  too. I  think  it's  really  important  that  not  only  that  we have  responsive  procedures  and  processes, which  is  very  important, but  also  that  we're  paying  attention to  that  that's  not  enough, and  that  the  experience  of  housing  instability, even  with  those  protections, continues  to  impact  a  young  person's  ability  to  learn. Yeah,  it  sounds  like  there's  more  work  to  be  done  there. Do  you  have  any  if  it  were  up  to  you, do  you  see  any  other  ways  that more  support  could  be  added  to  maybe  reach the  other  35%  of  kids  who  are  affected  by  this? I  think  it  really  does  come  down  to  strategies  around affordable  housing  because  I  think a  lot  of  those  students  that aren't  able  to  stay  in  that  same  school, it's  because  they  weren't  able  to  find  any  housing  here. Maybe  they  moved  to  a  different  state. We  see  so  much  movement  not just  within  a  city  or  within  a  community, but  across  state  lines  as  well. So  I  really  think  a  deeper  investment  in affordable  housing  would  minimize  a  lot  of  that  movement. I'm  newer  to  this.  I'm  still learning  all  of  the  ins  and  outs  of  this  issue, but  is  Mckinney  Vento  only  in  Minnesota? Are  there  other  types  of programs  across  different  states  or  across  the  nation? Yeah,  that's  a  really  good  question.  It's  a  federal  law. All  students  who  are  experiencing homelessness  are  protected  under  Mckinney  Vento. Whether  you're  at  a  charter  school  or a  public  school  in  Minnesota  or  Texas, Montana,  those  rights  are  protected. The  rights  are  really  around making  sure  that  students  who  are experiencing  homelessness  have  the  same  right to  education  as  they're  stably  housed  peers. Practically,  that  looks  like  making sure  that  transportation  is provided  back  to  school  of  origin. They  automatically  qualify  for  free  and  reduced  lunch. They  don't  have  to  have  some  of the  paperwork  required  for  enrollment  right  away. It's  really  intended  to  smooth  that  transition, quite  honestly,  it  was  designed  at  a  time. I  think  when  homelessness  really  often  was  an  episode, you  have  an  episode  of  homelessness  and  then  it gets  resolved  and  you're  stably  housed. And  I  will  say  that  now,  you  know, I  think  that  65%  stat  really  points to  it's  not  often just  one  episode  of  homelessness  anymore. Unfortunately,  just  the  lack  of affordability  is  leading  to  so  much  instability. Even  with  those  protections, we  still  see  a  lot  of  movement. But  it  is  a  federal  law  and  all  students  are protected  by  it.  Thanks  for  that. It  sounds  like  you  and  your  team are  in  high  levels  of  movement  and  change. And  shift  and  responsiveness  and adaptability  are  important  qualities and  skills  that  you  have  cultivated. I'm  curious  just  to  know  a  little  bit  more  about  you. What  led  you  to  do  this  type  of  work? Yeah,  I  have  always been  really  interested  in  like  issues  of  social  justice. And  I  was  raised  in  a  household where  like  the  preferential  option  for  the  poor  and the  mandate  to  judge  a  society by  how  the  most  vulnerable  in  a  community  are doing  was  very  much  a  part  of our  conversations  as  a  young  person  growing  up. Well,  we  didn't  have  a  lot  of  money. I  never  worried  about where  I  was  going  to  sleep  at  night. It  hit  me  like in  middle  school  or  something  where  it  hit  me  that like  community  members  and especially  children  would  not have  a  place  to  sleep  at  night. That  has  stuck  with  me. That  frustration  and  anger around  that  reality  and  who  that  impacts. I've  understood  more  and  more  over  time  about our  racist  past  that  led  us  to  where  we  are  today. But  I  would  say  just  like  a  deep  sense of  our  community  to  be equitable  and  particularly  wanting  all  children  in our  community  to  have  what  they need  to  reach  their  full  potential. That  is  what  initially  drew  me  to  the  work, but  then  I  was  really lucky  after  graduating  college  to  spend about  13  years  in  working  at  a  homeless  shelter  where  I got  to  work  with  both  parents  and kids  and  did  some  program  development. And  what  I  really  appreciate  about  that  experience  was  it taught  me  so  much  about  how, how  you  solve  homelessness, both  within  a  particular  family  situation but  also  on  the  community  level. I  would  say  I  maybe  moved  from  some  of  my  background, probably  was  flavored  with  some  white  saviorism. We  just  need  to  fix  this  for  people. And  I  think  I  really  learned  in that  work  how  important  it  is  to center  the  voices  of  people who  are  experiencing  homelessness. That  they  know  what  needs  to  happen. That  they  should  be  leading  the  community  solution. Not  only  the  solution  for  their  own  family, but  our  solution  as  a  community. And  learned  a  lot from  the  parents  and  the  kids  that  I  worked  with. That  led  me  then  I  worked  at Simpson  Housing  for  six  years  where  I  really  deepened. They  are  just  a  really  strong  commitment  to racial  equity  and  justice  and centering  the  voices  of  those  most  impacted. I  learned  a  lot  there  to, and  also  got  to  work  more closely  with  individual  families. And  I  saw  what  school  could  be  in, both  the  good  and  the  bad. I  saw  situations  where  really just  brilliant  young  people that  we  would  work  with  in  programming. And  then  we  would  hear  about  their  school  experience. And  it  was  like  we  were  talking  about  two  different  kids. Like  their  school  experience  was  so  hard  and  actually added  to  the  trauma  of the  instability  they  were  experiencing. Then  on  the  flip  side,  situations  where school  really  was  an  anchor  for  students  and  parents, that  it  was  a  place  they  felt  welcomed. A  place  they  were  inspired and  recognize  their  own  strengths. And  all  of  that  really  wanted  to  be  part. And  that's  when  I  then  moved  into this  role  with  Minneapolis  Public  Schools. That  is  a  role  that  was  laid, the  groundwork  for  was  laid  so strong  between  Zib  Ins  and  Ryan  Strack, who  are  my  predecessors. Mps  has  a  really  strong  commitment to  supporting  students  experiencing  homelessness. And  that  awareness  was  really  raised  by  my  predecessors, wanted  to  move  into  that  role, to  deepen  that  and  to  build  that  so  that  all  students  had that  positive  experience  that  I  saw happen  with  some  of  the  students I  was  working  with  at  Simpson. Wow,  that's  fantastic. There  is  so  much  that  I  want  to  touch on  from  what  you  just  shared. You  talked  about  growing  up  in a  neighborhood  that  had  a  specific  value  system, the  preferential  option  for  the  poor. Yes.  I'm  curious. You  know,  my  background  is  in domestic  violence  prevention  and we  had  something  similar  at the  organization  that  I  worked  at  where  we  judged ourselves  based  on  are  we  reaching  the  most  vulnerable? Right.  So  could  you  say  a little  bit  more  about  that  piece? Yeah,  yeah.  The  preferential  option for  the  poor  really  comes  out of  Roman  Catholic  social  justice  teaching. That  was  where  language  came  from. I  appreciate  that  connection to  that  because  I  do  think  that's  what  it's pointing  to  is  that  you  judge your  response  as  a  community  based off  how  those  most vulnerable  are  being  impacted  or  being  treated. And  I  think  we  can  say  the  same  thing within  our  school  system, that  if  we  create  an  education  system  that works  for  the  students  that  are  most  vulnerable, it  will  work  for  everyone. I  also  feel  really, sometimes  when  I  use  words  like  poor  and  vulnerable, I  worried  that  we're  painting this  picture  again  of  that,  oh, these  poor  people  that don't  have  any  strengths  or  skills and  somebody  needs  to  come  and  save  them, I  want  to  be  careful  about  that  language because  it's  very  much  a  system  problem. I  appreciate  the  idea  and  the  concept  behind  that. I  think  it's  really  important  that  we  partner  that  with a  deep  awareness  of the  strength  and  resiliency  of  people. That  those  who  might  be  categorized  as  the most  vulnerable  are  also incredibly  strong  and  have  the  answers. While  I  appreciate  that  language, I  think  we  could  probably  use some  updating  to  reflect  that  strength  and resiliency  that  that  is  present  within  communities  that have  been  marginalized  and  impacted  by  our  systems. Yeah,  absolutely  that such  an  important  point  language  is  so  powerful. And  I  think  that  yes, that  might  for  sure  have  antiquated  language  there. And  I  think  it  does  deserve  a  rework. Like  if  we  were  to, I  guess  shine  a  light  on the  systems  or  the  policies  or  things  that  are marginalizing  people  more  so we  would  find  more  solutions. I  think  I  appreciate  that  concept. Also,  just  wanted  to  say  like  13  years working  at  the  shelter  that  you  worked  for. Such  a  strong  accomplishment.  That's  fantastic. You  talked  a  B  for yourself  and  your  own  journey  in  your  own  path. You  talked  a  little  bit  about  flipping  White  Saviorism. Could  you  say  a  little  bit  more? Be,  I  really  appreciated  you  saying  we  need  to let  people  who  are  experiencing homelessness  lead  this  work. What  does  it  mean  for  you  to  be  a  good  follower? Hm,  yeah,  that's  a  great  question. Going  to  reflect  back  on  my  role  at Simpson  housing  to  help explain  how  I  see  this  and  what  I've  learned  from  it, I  was  tasked  with  developing youth  programming  for  our  scattered  site  families. We  had  really  strong  education  program  programming at  our  site  based  transitional  housing. But  most  of  our  families  were  living scattered  site  and  really  were  asking  for the  education  support  that  we  were  able  to provide  on  site  Simpson. Because  of  their  commitment  to racial  equity  and  centering  the  voices  of  those  most impacted  gave  me  the  space  and  time  to  bring in  the  voices  of  both  students and  parents  into  the  development  of  that  programming, rather  than  me  just  sitting  in my  office  or  reading  some  research, which  some  of  that  happened  too. But  I  was  able  to  pull together  groups  of  people  and  really ask  what  it  was  that they  would  want  out  of  extra  programming. And  to  do  that  in  a  way  that  honored  their  time. We  were  able  to  provide  stipends  for  people's  time. We  were  able  to  show  them where  their  input  was  leading  to, so  they  could  see  the  outcome  of their  involvement  from  that  experience. So  believe  that  that  is  what created  strong  programming  is  that  it was  led  by  the  parents  and the  students  that  would  be  involved  in  the  programming. I  think  as  a  leader, it's  particularly  a  white  leader working  with  a  population  that  is mostly  black  and  brown  families. That  it's  really  important  that  I  see myself  as  maybe  bringing  people  together, raising  issues  that  are  brought, but  really  partnering  with  those  most  impacted  to, to  be  making  those  decisions. That  it's  not  me  making  those  decisions, but  it's  me  partnering  with families  and  students  to  make  those  decisions. We  have  a  stable  home. Stable  schools,  which  is  a  really exciting  partnership  and  initiative that  homework  starts  with  Home  is  now  expanding  for  us. But  our  Parent  Advisory  council  for  that  really  has  just, in  a  very  short  amount  of  time, helped  inform  our  work. Just  another  example  of how  there  may  be  things  that  you  just  don't  think  about. Like  I  was  able  to  have a  parent  review  like a  robo  call  that  was  going  to  go  out  to  all  families. The  way  I  worded  it, when  she  heard  it,  she  heard  something different  than  what  I  was  trying  to  convey. She  was  able  to  work  with  me  on  changing some  of  that  language  in  that  robo  call so  that  parents  paid  attention  to  it. That  feels  like  a  small  thing, but  it  makes  a  really  big  difference. It  sounds  like  it's  a  little  bit  more  effort  to  amplify voices  of  people  who  are  experiencing  homelessness. But  at  the  end  of  the  day,  it  sounds  like  the  programming benefited  from  that  greatly  and so  did  the  lives  of  the  people  that  you  were  serving. Yes,  absolutely. One  other  thing  that  you  mentioned when  you  were  telling  me  about  what  led  you  to do  this  work  was  about  seeing schools  who  were  able  to  support  families  well, the  school  systems  or school  programs  that  maybe  didn't  hit  the  mark. Could  you  say  a  little  bit about  what  schools  were doing  that  seemed  to  work  really  well? Sure.  Yeah.  I  think  so. Much  of  it  is  at  the  adults  that  are  working  with kids  and  their  capacity  and ability  to  connect  and  support  those  young  people. When  I  saw  working  really  well  there, teachers  and  support  staff  and  social  workers who  had  the  time  to  be  able  to  get  to  know the  parent  and  the  child  and  saw their  whole  person  and really  built  them  up  and  believed  in  them. And  I  think  about  one  student  in  particular who  really  had  had  so  much  trauma  in  his  short  life. School  and  sitting  in  a  classroom was  scary  and  hard  for him  because  of  everything  that  he  had  been  through. He  would  sometimes  just  get  up  and  run  the  halls. There  were  some  schools that  I  worked  with  who  that  would  have  been. The  response  would  have  been combative  and  it  would  have  actually added  to  his  trauma  and  challenges  at  school. But  this  school  absolutely  saw  him  for  all  of  who  he  was. Including  a  great  leader, which  he  was  and  is  really  were able  to  provide  the  support that  he  needed  to  be  able  to  stay  in  the  classroom. And  it  was  a  lot  of  work,  he  needed  time. There  was  a  really  wonderful  special  education  teacher. That  would  just  sit  with  him  when  he  was  in that  space  and  give him  the  time  he  needed  to  settle  down  and calm  down  and  move  back  into  the  classroom. They  partnered  with  us,  our  staff, that  mom  and  knew  the  kid  could  really  help  support  that, but  they  needed  the  time  and  space  to  do  that. And  I  think  so  often  our  classrooms, there  are  lots  of  students like  this  student  in  a  classroom. Teachers  and  support  staff  don't  always  have, sometimes  it's  about  awareness, but  a  lot  of  times  it's  about  even  just  the  capacity to  meet  the  needs  of  all  of  their  students. Some  of  our  schools  within  MPS, 50  to  60%  of  the  student  body  has experienced  homelessness  at  some  point during  their  time  at  MPS. You  think  about  knowing that  experiencing  homelessness  carries with  it  a  level  of  trauma that  we  see  in  education  outcomes, even  when  you're  isolating  out  poverty. Students  who  have  experienced homelessness  fare  worse  in  terms  of  academic  outcomes, attendance,  literacy, graduation  rates,  all  of  those  things. And  that's  not  to  say  that  those  students aren't  brilliant  and  capable. The  experience  of  homelessness  is  very  challenging  and does  impact  their  ability  to  learn and  succeed  in  the  classroom. You  think  about  a  school  where 50  to  60%  of  the  student  body  has  that  experience. If  teachers  and  support  staff  aren't  really  well supported  and  given  the  space  and  time to  be  able  to  meet  the  needs  of  those  students, then  it's  going  to  be  very  challenging, both  for  the  staff  and  for  the  students  and  parents. Yeah.  Sounds  like  students  in  general, but  then  also  students  who  have experienced  homelessness  or  other  traumas. Definitely,  like  you're  saying,  need  more  space and  more  time  and  more  support. And  then  our  caregivers, including  teachers,  need  the  same. Yeah,  absolutely.  Our  parents  too. I  think  sometimes  we  forget  about  parents. I  have  yet  to  meet  a  parent  who  does not  want  the  best  education  experience  for  their  child. Sometimes  we  miss  that  when  we  don't understand  what  it's  like  to  experience  homelessness. When  you  look  at  Minneapolis  and  housing  affordability, like  the  number  of  available  units for  people  making  30%  of  the  area, median  income  is  zero. You're  a,  and  you're struggling  to  either  raise  your  income, find  housing  that  you  can  afford, the  transportation  factor  of  even getting  to  these  places  to see  them  and  you're  in  shelter, the  layers  of  barriers  that  we put  in  front  of people  to  be  able  to  access  affordable  housing. And  sometimes  parents  aren't  able to  respond  to  schools in  the  way  that  we  might  expect  them  to. Understanding  that  that  is  not reaction  to  wanting  to  be involved  or  wanting  their  child  to  be  successful. But  really  understanding  that  that  might just  be  the  place  that  they're  at  right  now because  of  our  systems  that  have  very  much marginalized  people  and  not provided  space  for  affordable  housing  for  all. Yeah,  It  sounds  like  we  could  do  a  lot to  remove  obstacles  for  people. I  guess  that  brings  me  to  our  next  question. That  you  and  I  are  recording  this  on zoom  because  we  are  in  a  global  pandemic  currently. And  I'm  curious  as  to  how Covid  19  has  impacted  your  work. It  has  dramatically  impacted  our  work. Minneapolis  Public  Schools  right now  is  fully  distance  learning. We  are  just  starting  to  move  into  phase  three, which  supports  at  school, for  particular  student  groups for  whom  distance  learning  is  really  not  working. We're  just  starting  that  process. But  one  thing  that  I  think  it  has  pointed  out, it's  not  maybe  something  that  was  new  to  those of  us  who  work  really  closely  in  this  area. But  I  think  it  has  broadened awareness  that  schools  are  so much  more  for  our  community  than  a  place  of  education. That  schools  have  filled the  gaps  that  are  exist  in  our  community. And  I'm  thinking  about  gaps  around  housing, gaps  around  food  and  food  insecurity. Just  those  basic  needs  of our  community  members  that  are  not  being  met. Schools  have  become  that  place. School  has  become  a  safe  and  stable  place for  people  who  don't  have  a  home. School  has  become  a  place  where  you  can  get two  healthy  meals  and  food  to  bring  home  on  the  weekend. Schools  have  become  a  place, and  I  think  always  have  been, but  where  there  are  other  caring  adults that  are  connected  with  you  and are  responsive  to  your  needs  and your  strengths  that  touch  point  of  school  is  missing. That  does  matter. I  think  teachers  and  school  staff  are. Have  been  absolutely  incredible  at  pivoting to  this  online  platform  and  are  working  so  hard. It's  not  the  same  as  seeing  students. I  think  we've  really  seen  how  challenging  it  is. Even  with  we  have  home  delivery  of  meals, we  have  food  boxes that  have  a  week's  worth  of  healthy  food  in  them. For  students,  we  have  all  these  things  that  we've pivoted  so  that  we  can  continue  to  meet  those  needs, but  it  does  not  replace  that  touch  point  of  school. We  actually  are  very  low  in our  numbers  right  now  of students  who  are  experiencing  homelessness. So  we're  at  about  60%  of where  we  would  normally  be  at  this  time, which  nationally, other  districts  are  seeing  the  same  thing. It's  not  because  we  think that  there's  been  a  decrease  in  homelessness. It  is  missing  that  touch  point  of  school. We're  trying  to  get  really  creative around  ways  to  identify  those  students. We're  making  sure  that  we  are supporting  their  needs  as  best  we  can, But  without  that  touchpoint,  it's  very  challenging. Yeah.  Schools  play  such  a  huge  role for  the  community  and  like  you  said, are  a  safe  place  for  a  sanctuary  for  many. I'm  curious,  as  we  talked  about  proximity  earlier, and  you  mentioned  a  couple  of  creative  ways. How  are  schools  trying  to  stay close  and  in  tune  with  the  needs  of  families? Yeah,  one  thing  I've  been really  impressed  with  is the  level  of  communication  with  parents. I  think  just  because  parents have  had  to  be  more  involved  in the  online  learning  and  all  of  that  staff  have had  to  reach  out  and  troubleshoot  and  work with  parents  and  all  of  those  pieces. I've  been  really  impressed  with  the. I  just  think  there's  been  much  more  communication with  parents  since  we  moved  to  distance  learning. That's  one  way  is  just  that  regular  communication with  parents  that  again, we're  still  seeing  that  lower  rate. That's  certainly  not  filling  the  gap. We  also  sent  out  a  survey  district  wide, which  we  haven't  done specifically  around  housing  stability  before. But  we  sent  out  a  survey  asking  people  if  they  were one  in  a  temporary  housing  situation due  to  a  lack  of  affordable  options, or  two,  needed  resources to  maintain  their  housing  stability. First,  I  will  just  say  that  surveys don't  necessarily  reach  our  most  mobile  families. Phone  numbers  change  really  regularly. Access  to  checking  e  mail, and  all  of  those  things  are  not  always  very  accessible. We  know  we're  only  reaching a  portion  of  our  student  body, but  even  with  that,  30%  of those  that  responded  were  in  one  of  those  two  categories. Either  needed  resources  to  maintain stability  or  we're  not  stable. We  used  that  as  a  way  to  then  connect  with those  families  that  needed  the  resources or  were  in  a  temporary  situation  to see  if  they  would  qualify  as  experiencing homelessness  and  then  have  those  extra  protections in  those  extra  rights  and  if  not other  resources  that  may  still  be useful  or  beneficial  to  those  families. That  adds  up  to  close  to  3,000  students  that would  have  responded  with that  housing  instability  factor. That's  great.  Once  you're  identifying  needs  or  you're understanding  the  situation  of families  who  do  need  extra  support, do  you  then  have  a  way  to  meet that  need  or  are  there  other  partnerships  or other  policy  changes  that  need to  happen  in  order  for  those  needs  to  be  met? Yeah.  Yes  and  no. I  would  say  in  terms  of  meeting  the  needs, we  do  our  best  to stay  connected  and  up  to date  with  the  resources  that  are  available. Like  a  current  example  would  be making  sure  that  our  families  who are  behind  in  rent  know  that  they can  apply  for  the  covid  funds. For  the  housing  emergency  Assistance  funds. If  they're  not  eligible  for  those  funds, what  are  the  other  sources  of  funding  that could  potentially  catch  people up  in  their  rent  or  mortgage before  the  eviction  moratorium  is  lifted? And  then  the  second  piece  of  that  is  making sure  that  people  do  understand  their  rights under  the  eviction  moratorium.  I  say  yes. We  stay  up  to  date  on  resources,  we  connect, we  partner  with  other  community  organizations that  are  doing  really  good  work. We're  a  bridge  to  external  resources. And  we  also  have  internal  resources. The  stable  home,  stable  schools and  homework  starts  with  home. A  really  powerful  tool  of  an  intervention. Then  we  have  other,  smaller  sources of  support  that  we  can  connect  families  to  internally. Yes.  Also.  So  often families  just  need  affordable  housing. And  we  cannot  answer  that for  everybody  because  the  gap  is  so  huge. I  think  nationally  they  say  that  one  in  four  that qualify  for  some  subsidized or  affordable  housing  will  actually  get  it. We  know  that  there's  a  huge  gap  in our  ability  to  connect  people  with  affordable  housing. That  is  a  resource that  we  are  not  able  to  provide  for  many  families. Excellent.  You  mentioned  the  eviction  moratorium that  we  have  currently  in  Minnesota, and  I  know  we  heard  about  it  on  another  one of  our  podcast  episodes. Could  you  remind  our  listeners  what  that  is  and then  say  a  little  bit  about  how  you  use  it  in  your  work? Yeah,  absolutely.  So  we  have a  local  eviction  moratorium  that  is connected  to  the  peacetime  declaration  that the  governor  has  been  extending  30  days  at  a  time. And  it's  tied  to  that  Peacetime  Emergency  Declaration. It  is  a  very  strong  statement  of  eviction  prevention. And  there  are  legal  reasons that  someone  could  be  evicted  right  now. So  it's  really  important  that people  know  that  and  understand  that. So  I  would  say  how  we're  using  that in  our  work  is  just  making  sure  that our  staff  know  this  information and  are  sharing  that  with  parents and  conversations  that  they're  having. And  that  was  one  of  the  resources that  we  shared  out  when  we  did  the  survey  as  well. We  are  still  hearing  about  evictions  and  we're hearing  about  evictions  that  probably  were  not  legal. Oftentimes,  tenants  just  did  not  know  their  rights. We  have  a  strong  response  system when  we  know  about  what's  happening. Homeline  has  been  really  wonderful  and Mid  Minnesota  Legal  Aid  have  been  wonderful. Those  are  really  important  resources for  the  community  if  they're  ever  not  sure, that  would  be  a  great  place  to  check  if an  eviction  is  legal  or  not  and  how  to  get  support. If  it's  not,  then  we  have a  federal  eviction  moratorium  as  well  that  runs through  the  end  of  the  year  that  expires  December  31, and  was  put  out  by  the  CDC. It's  an  important  tool  and  it's  helpful, and  it's  not  as  strong  as  our  local  moratorium. Our  local  moratorium  stands then  if  that  were  to  go  away  for  any  reason, which  I  hope  it  doesn't, until  we  have  a  plan  for  making  sure  that we  can  fill  the  gaps  in  the  instability  that  will  come, when  that's  lifted,  that  will  stand, but  we  would  be  covered  by  the federal  until  the  end  of  the  year. Yeah.  Knowing  your  rights  is something  I  keep  hearing  from  you  and that's  such  an  important  tool for  families  and  for  people. Also,  I've  heard  a  lot  today about  the  excellent  tools  that  we  have, especially  in  being  responsive and  being  in  a  moment  of  crisis. If  you  could  re  envision  or  reimagine  a  system  long  term, what  would  be  one  of  those  long  term  tools or  keys  to  ending  student  homelessness? Affordable  housing.  I  know  that  sounds  simplistic, but  I  think  the  reality  is so  many  families  are  experiencing homelessness  simply  because  there's a  lack  of  affordable  options. We  need  to  pay  attention  to  that and  be  honest  about  how  we  got where  we  are  and  who  is  experiencing homelessness  as  part  of  getting  us  to  the  solution. The  system  is  working  exactly how  it  was  intended  to  work, and  we  cut  people  of  color  out  of  home  ownership of  particular  areas  for  so  long. And  that  racism  and  that discrimination  continues  to  impact  people  today. And  you  can  see  that  in  who experiences  homelessness  in  Minnesota, if  you  are  a  black  resident, you  are  16.4  times more  likely  to  experience  homelessness. It's  the  largest  gap  in  the  country. We  also  have  the  largest  gap  in home  ownership  between  black  and  white  residents. I  think  at  a  base  level, we  just  need  to  make  sure  that  we're  investing in  housing  in  a  way  that housing  can  be  affordable to  all  of  our  community  members. Until  we  do  that,  we  will  not  solve  homelessness. There  are  a  number  of  other  things  that we  can  and  should  be  doing, but  that  is  very  foundational  to  smoothing  the  dial. And  we're  so  far  from  that. Even  families  who  are  in  shelter, very  few  of  them  get  connected  with an  affordable  housing  solution. Our  families  who  are  couch  hopping or  doubled  up  don't  even  qualify for  any  of  our  housing  supports in  our  homeless  response  system. The  gap  of  access  to  affordable  housing  is  huge  and  is the  basis  of  what  we  need  to  solve homelessness  is  to  make sure  there's  affordable  housing  for  everyone. Sounds  like  there's  a  lot  of  work  to  do. We  have  a  lot  of  dismantling  to  do. We  have  a  lot  of  building  to  do  together. Yeah.  Work  in  our  listeners  here,  more  about  you. Find  out  more  about  your  work. Yeah. If  you  go  to  our  Minneapolis  Public  Schools  website, you  can  just  search  either  homeless  and  highly mobile  or  my  name  and  you  could  get  connected  there. We  haven't  really  talked  much  about stable  home,  stable  schools, but  I  think  that's  a  really  powerful  tool  that, and  homework  starts  with  home. To  both  prevent  homelessness and  end  homelessness  for  our  families. Schoolhouse  connection,  which  is  a  national  or has  a  piece  on  stable  home,  stable  schools. That  I  think  is  something  that  might  be  interesting  to listeners  also  just  searching stable  home  stable  schools  more  locally. The  city  has  a  page  and the  Housing  Authority  has  a  page  on  that  as  well. That's  great.  Thank  you. This  was  really,  I  learned  so  much. I  think  it's  been  really  great  talking  to  you  today. Yeah,  you  too.  I  appreciate  the  time  and  I appreciate  the  focus  on  this  important  issue. Thank  you  for  listening  to  the ending  student  homelessness  podcast. This  podcast  was  recorded  on Shin  Abe  and  Dakota  ancestral  homelands. Indigenous  people  have  historically  and  paradoxically faced  homelessness  at disproportionate  in  the  state  of  Minnesota. Please  visit  our  podcast  page  to  learn  about  ways  you can  support  local  organizations committed  to  addressing  this  issue. This  special  podcast  series  has  been  created by  the  Homework  Starts  with  Home  Research  Partnership. We  are  a  collaborative  state university  school  community  project designed  to  integrate multi  system  administrative  data  and analyze  it  in  order  to  produce  and  disseminate high  quality  evidence  pertinent  to  addressing the  state  and  national  challenge  of  student  homelessness.