Homeless shelters face a bleak winter
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Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios
This winter may be especially brutal for Twin Cities homeless shelters.
The big picture: Drastic cuts to federal housing funding are set to kick in Jan. 1 — and may cascade through an already fragile anti-homelessness system, advocates say.
Driving the news: This weekend's below-normal temps were an early test for some emergency shelters and day centers, which were already straining under rising food costs and the recent interruption to SNAP benefits.
Threat level: "I'm really worried we're going to have a huge spike in family homelessness that we are not ready to respond to, even with our best efforts," said Charlotte Kinzley of People Serving People, which operates 115 family shelter units in Minneapolis.
Zoom in: At St. Paul's Union Gospel Mission, around 20 men kept warm this weekend by sleeping in the lobby after overflow beds were filled, a spokesperson told Axios. (Ramsey County's warming centers usually open Dec. 1.)
- Catholic Charities Twin Cities was serving 100 more meals per day than usual even before the government shutdown triggered a SNAP benefits crisis, CEO Jamie Verbrugge told Axios.
- The average stay in a People Serving People family shelter is now between three and four months — about a month longer than typical, Kinzley said.
What they're watching: Beginning next month, the Trump administration will change federal rules to cap spending on permanent supportive housing, jeopardizing a $48 million pot of funding in Minnesota.
- Many of the beneficiaries of that funding — some 3,600 Minnesotans — are already on the brink of homelessness.
Case in point: More than 100 families who receive rental subsidies and case management through Simpson Housing — a prominent local provider — stand to lose support if the cuts go through, executive director Steve Horsfield told Axios.
- Simpson's funding would lapse in June, but other providers would have to make more immediate cuts, Horsfield said.
- "People who are most precariously housed are being faced with some really bad choices," added Verbrugge. Catholic Charities owns and operates more than 1,000 permanent supportive housing units.
What they're saying: "At a time of extraordinary community need … [the administration] is walking away from and imperiling decades of bipartisan progress on proven solutions to homelessness," Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative president and CEO Chris LaTondresse told Axios.
The other side: Prominent conservative critics say permanent supportive housing has proven too costly and time-consuming to build and maintain, MinnPost reported.
- Trump administration officials dispute that the new rules will lead to increased homelessness, telling MPR News the changes are designed to shift providers' approach to the issue, and to encourage "faith-based organizations to step up."
Plus: As of Nov. 1, parents of children 14 or older have needed to meet new work or volunteer requirements to qualify for SNAP benefits.
- For parents, that could mean finding both a job and child care — and some who can't could face homelessness or need other emergency help, advocates said.
The bottom line: Multiple providers independently used the same metaphor with Axios: For many people in or near homelessness, life is like a Jenga tower with multiple missing pieces.
- Those advocates fear that this winter, more pieces are about to be removed.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect the changes in SNAP eligibility took effect on Nov. 1 (not March 1), and affect children 14 or older (not younger).