Affordable Housing advocates Tuesday met with lawmakers in St. Paul for their annual “Habitat on the Hill” effort.
More than 100 volunteers are trying to corner members of the House and Senate about what funding should be set aside to ensure everyone in the state has a place to live.
Lawmakers right now are considering plans to help fund an affordable home ownership program in Minnesota.
That item received more than $60 million in funding when the last budget was crafted.
“We’re hopeful that we can get as much,” said Habitat Minnesota CEO Cristen Incitti. “We’ll see what happens with this year’s budget targets.”
Organizers are encouraging first-timers just to be themselves, because the lawmakers are working for them.
“I’ve volunteered for Habitat for Humanity for 32 years, and I’ve seen (how) the homesteads we’ve built really affects the families,” said Tim Spanier of St. Paul.
“All you can do is try to convince them, tell them the importance of it, usually a story that hit home,” he said.
One item high on the group’s agenda includer the workforce and affordable home ownership program.
There was some concern of the late-ness of this year’s Habitat on the Hill, since lawmakers right now are hard-pressed to get their work wrapped up by Monday’s scheduled deadline.