>March 21, 2002 > >The Honorable R. T. Rybak > >City of Minneapolis > >Room 331, City Hall > > > >Dear Mr. Mayor: > >The Community Collaborative requests a meeting with >you prior to April 7, 2002, to talk >about ways in which the interests and perspectives of >poor African Americans can be made a >higher priority in your soon-to-be released 90-day >Plan for the City of Minneapolis. It is our >conclusion that your current approach in developing >this 90-day plan does not include the >interests and needs of this important segment of our >population. To ignore these families is >tantamount to surrender. It has been our experience >that these lives can be turned around, but >it takes commitment and resources. So far, we see >little evidence of either in your plans for the >future. > >As we understand it, you plan to unveil your 90-day >Plan on April 7th. We also understand >that part of that plan will deal with affordable >housing. You and your staff have assembled >many housing experts as part of this process, but we >fail to see any representatives who have >experience in developing housing specifically targeted >at poor African Americans. > >The Community Collaborative is a recently-formed group >of African American citizens and >community activists who are interested in promoting >affordable housing that addresses the >needs and special conditions of poor African >Americans. While this city has seen renewed >interest in affordable housing, most of these >developments miss those who most need this >housing � the poorest families who live, for the most >part, in emergency shelters and temporary >housing. > >By far, most of these individuals and families are >African American � estimated by some to be >as high as 80-90 percent of the emergency shelter >population. Because of past housing >problems, most of them cannot get into rental housing, >even affordable units. Poor African >American families are disproportionately represented >in emergency shelters , they cost the City >and County heavily in social service, police, and >court services, and their children are too often >those who are failing in our schools. If something is >not done to address these families, we will >only perpetuate their being a drain on our social >service, educational, and criminal justice >resources. Experience has shown us that affordable >housing alone will not address these >problems. Only a concerted and focused approach on >these particular families and their >special conditions is likely to make a difference. We >see little or no evidence of this type of >focus in the work of your office to date. And, we do >not see the involvement of people who >know how to work with these families represented in >your task forces. Whether this neglect is >benign or intentional is beside the point. The fact is >that your current approach is not likely to >deal with one of the most serious problems facing this >city. > >We have tried for over a month to meet with you. We >were told that a meeting was being >scheduled, and that we should wait for a call. No call >has come. We�ve spoken with David >Ferrell, Eric Takishita, Russ Adams, and others. While >they agreed with us that these concerns >need to be addressed, all they could offer us was the >suggestion that we join an existing >working group. However, none of these groups is >dealing in a direct and focused way on >homeless African Americans. Our experience tells us >that unless there is this type of focus, the >concerns of the poorest get lost in the adoption of >less costly and poverty dispersal strategies >that form the backbone of most affordable housing >strategies. > >We would like to help. Given our experience in >housing, community organizing, and family >support in the African American community, we believe >that we can bring valuable knowledge, >experience, and perspective to your efforts. We have >ideas that we know will help deal with >many of these problems and challenges. And, while we >have received generally positive >receptions from many on the City Council, we feel shut >out by your office. We would like to >help but cannot if we remain marginalized by your >staff or by task forces with overly broad >agendas. > >We request a meeting with you prior to the April 7th >summit. We know that this is a tight >timeline, but we have been trying to set up this >meeting for quite some time. We would like to >help shape your 90-day Plan, as well as help in its >implementation as regards poor African >Americans. At this late date, we are not interested in >a meeting with your staff, as we feel that >they have not recognized the role that we can play. At >this point, we are trying to work with >you and not in opposition to you. But the willingness >to meet cannot rest solely with us. You >were elected on a platform of inclusiveness. You >cannot afford to develop processes that >exclude those who are most affected by affordable >housing policies � in this case, poor African >Americans. > >Sincerely, > > >Pauline Thomas >Community Collaborative Committee > > > >cc: Natalie Johnsonlee > Robert Lilligren > Dean Zimmermann > Shawn Lewis, Field Neighborhood --
_______________________________________________ Sign-up for your own FREE Personalized E-mail at Email.com http://www.email.com/?sr=signup Win the Ultimate Hawaiian Experience from Travelocity. http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;4018363;6991039;n?http://svc.travelocity.com/promos/winhawaii/
