Summer 2018 Housing survey and Neighborhood Connectors
The main focus for the Housing team in 2018 is meeting residents and gathering data around housing concerns and issues. Having a whole new board and many new residents, we felt it was important to hear from you, the residents, about how to develop this program. The housing team was awarded at $10,000 grant from the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) a program within the University of Minnesota to hire Neighborhood Connectors. The FNA hired four residents to door knock every home in Folwell throughout July and August.
The Neighborhood Connectors have two primary goals:
- Meet you, the residents. We are striving to be a neighborhood friendly face, provide contact info to individuals in an effort to support and connect them to resources that will assist in making lives a little bit easier.
- They are outfitted with a housing survey to learn more about the real time demographics of Folwell. This aids in understanding who Folwell is and what are the hurdles to housing needs that folks have.
As the Mayor and City Council are focused on affordable housing, it was important to the FNA that Folwell had a strong voice and direction in what affordable housing and housing needs looks like for us. With a large percentage of rentals, abandon buildings, and empty lots, there is a lot of conversation around what could/should/needs to be built and prioritized. The survey will help provide the info, while the relationship building will provide the support.
A LITTLE ABOUT THE SURVEYWe are asking personal questions in the survey to learn about the neighborhood medium income and age, housing needs and barriers. This is to help us as the housing team and Neighborhood Association advocate for the real needs of the community. We need to know what level of affordable housing we are fighting for. We need to know if it's families, elderly, young folks, etc that are experiencing housing insecurity. While this personal information can be invasive to some, all surveys are anonymous.We also understand that our Neighborhood Connectors are asking your name because they want to get to know you. PLEASE NOTE: Your name is not attached to your survey. That information is collected in two different platforms and do not cross over. If you choose to take a survey, it is kept separate from the survey taken.
BLOCK PARTIESAlong with Door Knocking, the Housing team is hosting four block parties this summer to bring residents together, build relationships, and hopefully connect with those who weren't home when our Neighborhood Connectors are out. The block parties will be hosted with free food, music, activities, games and our Neighborhood Connectors! Come join usSunday July 8, 1-4pm: 36th and Penn at Penn Ave GardenTuesday July 31, 6-9pm: 33rd and James in the Northside Boxing Club parking lotFriday August 10, 6-9pm: 33rd and Fremont in the Fremont Clinic parking lotSaturday August 18, 1-4pm: 36th and Fremont near Fremont MarketHere are a few photos from our first successful Block Party!