$300,000 Awarded to NWCoC to Support Efforts in Ending Homelessness in NW Minnesota

March 13, 2023   (Bemidji, MN) – More than $300,000 has been awarded to the Northwest Minnesota Continuum of Care through the Department of Housing and Urban Development to support the NWCoC’s efforts in ending homelessness throughout Northwest Minnesota.

Representatives from HUD Minnesota announced the grant awards at an event today in Bemidji.

Funding includes: 

• $285,469 for a three-year program for Tri-Valley Opportunity Council’s Rapid Re-Housing, a project designed to serve households, through an equity lens, that are experiencing homelessness and have severe service needs, with a focus on individuals and families in Marshall and Norman counties. 

Using a housing-first philosophy, the project will provide time-limited rental assistance, deposit assistance, damage repairs, housing navigation services, move-in assistance, transportation and case management services. The program will utilize the HMIS system to enter households through Coordinated Entry. The anticipated program outcome is to assist those experiencing homelessness in attaining housing quickly, decreasing the burden of financial hardships and housing instability.

• $15,460 to manage the Minnesota Northwest Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), a one-year renewal funding to allow the Institute for Community Alliances to assist community leaders in providing responsive, tailored enhancements to monitor and use HMIS data.

The Northwest Minnesota Continuum of Care is a regional planning body of representative stakeholders designed to promote a shared commitment to the goal of ending homelessness in Northwest Minnesota. It serves three tribal nations and 12 counties.

The Northwest Minnesota Foundation serves as the “collaborative applicant” for the NWCoC, essentially administering the NWCoC and employing its coordinator. The NWCoC has its own board separate from that of the NMF.