Essential! By Kris Kvols, HOPE President

July 14 was a monumental day for HOPE Coalition.  Not only did the Governor and Legislative leaders reach an agreement which laid the foundation for a final budget and an end to the government shutdown, but Ramsey County Judge Gearin declared crime victim services a core function of government.  The day before, July 13, Judge Gearin declared transitional housing programs a core function of government.  Both of these rulings defined the work of HOPE Coalition (and other agencies like ours) as an essential service which should be maintained – even during a state government shutdown.

For HOPE Coalition, these decisions ensured that we would be able to keep our doors open and continue our services in the community.  Up until that point, HOPE Coalition’s fate was uncertain.  If Judge Gearin had not granted our programs the status of core functions there would have been no state government reimbursement funding for our programs for the duration of the shutdown.  If the Governor and Legislative leaders had not agreed to a compromise (albeit one that none of them liked) the shutdown was predicted to last into September.  The Executive Committee and I had begun discussions about how long the agency could continue to function before it no longer had the funds to pay essential bills and provide basic client services.  I was preparing to propose a date in August when HOPE Coalition programs would close and all staff (including myself) would be laid off.   This would have been devastating to the clients that depend on us and the agency as a whole.  Fortunately, the events of July 14 offered optimism for the immediate and long-term future as well.


Our Office of Justice Programs (OJP) contract for the Haven of Hope and Kids Count returned to its previous status and we will be reimbursed for grant expenses incurred during the shutdown.  This funding will remain constant through the end of September.  On October 1, our new OJP contract will begin.  At this point, the terms of the contract are not in place however, I anticipate that the collective cuts to our OJP funding will be about 11%.  Although this will definitely impact HOPE Coalition, this cut  was much less than the worst case scenario discussed earlier in the legislative session.  That would have resulted in a collective cut of 24%.


Shortly after Judge Gearin’s ruling, the Office of Economic Opportunity notified us that the Transitional Housing Program grant which expired on June 30 will be renewed for two years at the same rate as our previous contract.  The Judge’s ruling also insures that we will be reimbursed for expenses incurred during the shutdown when we did not have an existing contract.  I expect our new contract to arrive in the mail in another week.
The month leading up to the shutdown and the record 20 days of shutdown were a nightmare from which I am glad to awake.  Our post-shutdown reality is actually better than I dared to dream.  I learned a lot about the government, our agency, and our politics during the shutdown.  I’m grateful for the outcome and for the knowledge.  I sincerely hope I never, ever have to lead this agency through another shutdown.

As Liz Kuoppala, Executive Director of the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless said to me in an e-mail, “There are good long-term benefits of this ruling, in my opinion.  It helps us to know the Courts have ruled that the services you and other homeless programs provide are essential services that meet a core function of government.   Hold your head high and know your work is appreciated by all three branches of government.”  She is right.  All of us at HOPE Coalition and all of you who support us in so many important ways should hold our/your heads high.  We already know this work is essential to the people we serve.   But now, after a shutdown that brought HOPE Coalition close to the edge, we have a court ruling and bi-annual budget that affirm the state government deems it essential as well.