PRESS RELEASE
Minnesota Lt. Gov. Candidates to Address the Homeless in Forum Hosted by The Salvation Army
ROSEVILLE, Minn. – October 4, 2010 – Minnesota Lt. Gov. candidates are scheduled to address homeless people during a forum hosted by The Salvation Army on Oct. 6 from 4–5:30 p.m. at the state’s largest homeless outreach center – The Salvation Army Harbor Light Shelter, 1010 Currie Ave. in Minneapolis. A large audience of people living in poverty and experiencing homelessness is expected to attend.
Confirmed guests include Independence Party candidate Jim Mulder, Resource Party candidate Howard Hanson and Green Party candidate Dan Dittman. Each candidate will be given several minutes to speak about job creation, health care, transportation, housing and other issues critical to ending homelessness. They will also field questions from the audience. A moderator will read answers to five questions about homelessness submitted by Republican Party candidate Annette Meeks, Democratic Party candidate Yvonne Prettner Solon and Ecology Party candidate Erin Wallace, all of whom are unable to attend.
The forum is important for a number of reasons:
• People experiencing homelessness typically know little about candidates because they lack access to the internet, television and other media.
• People experiencing homelessness represent a large voting block, yet few of them vote. By educating homeless people on why to vote, our local democratic process will be more inclusive.
• Allowing people experiencing homelessness to speak directly with candidates will give the candidates a better understanding of how complex homelessness can be.
“To our knowledge, this is a first-of-its-kind event,” said Dominick Bouza, Harbor Light operations director. “The forum is a critical step in helping homeless people to understand they have a voice and a role in determining Minnesota’s future. Just as important, it will allow candidates to interact with the very people their future decisions could impact.”
The forum is a joint effort between The Salvation Army, St. Stephen’s Human Services, Simpson Housing Services, Our Saviour’s Housing, Heading Home Hennepin, the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition, Downtown Congregations to End Homelessness and Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless.
The Salvation Army Northern Division has been serving Minnesota and North Dakota communities since 1886. Today the Northern Division includes operation centers in dozens of cities across both states. These centers provide food, shelter, spiritual enrichment and more to about 500,000 people a year.
