How committed is new mayor to Minneapolis affordable housing
Opinion Response: How committed is new mayor to Minneapolis affordable housing
Kenneth Brown: Past Chair Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission
Minneapolis Advisory Council on Persons with Disabilities; Chair of Access committee 9 years
Allow me as a person with a Disability, A Black man in America, and leader in the communities/cultures in which I survive, live, and thrive be abundantly clear. I issue a challenge to the Mayor, every City Council member, and the heads/staff of every non-profit or other institutions involved in the lack of “affordable housing” to show and prove they see and understand the housing crisis in Minneapolis.
Again and throughout our history: persons with disabilities whom are a protected class under the constitution, the Civil and Human Rights of this country, and the Americans with Disabilities Act which is twenty seven years old are being denied their rights. Being ignored/excluded in the conversation, not a part of the discussion, definitely not included in the half-baked efforts of improvement.
I have yet to hear any politician or leader specifically include in their affordable housing statements the inclusion of affordable ADAPTABLE housing. People are not getting younger. We are surviving. We are living longer. We are contributing tax paying members of society, and thriving with disabilities. We should be a part of every discussion/action.
FACT: Rental companies by law are required to request a person seeking a rental unit to show income 3 times[300%] over the rental amount. A person with a disability just like others can have a family, can have a family, has a right to live where they so choose. If rental housing is $1700.00 per month for a 3 bedroom home, income requirement is $5,100.00 per month. How many able-bodied individuals make $5,100.00 per month. Persons with disabilities are presently and historically underpaid, under employed, and by this law being forced to live where others force them to, not where they choose.
DISCRIMINATION IS LEGAL IN MINNESOTA