By Chloe Kucera, Faribault Daily News June 23, 2025 Lack of affordable housing and homelessness…
Housing, homelessness resources actively helping Rice County families
By CHLOE KUCERA, Northfield News
March 9, 2025
Accessing resources for those experiencing housing issues can feel intimidating and out of reach for many.
Luckily, Rice County has experts and organizations that are actively reaching out to lend a helping hand to families in need.
On Monday, Feb. 24, the county hosted a Housing and Homelessness in Rice County panel at the Weitz Center for Creativity at Carleton College. Housing experts for the county and related organizations presented data on the trends in housing and homelessness seen in Rice County. They also shared what resources they offer those impacted and what is being done to mitigate the issue.
The representatives and organizations that presented included Rice County Social Services housing assistance, Three Rivers Community Action, Community Action Center, and Northfield Union of Youth.
Rice County Housing Director Joy Watson shared what the county is doing with the Housing Authority agency.
“Our programs are long-term, so households can remain on our program for as long as their income is eligible,” Watson said. “They’re helping people find housing, navigate housing, and maintain that stable housing.”
Housing Authority programs are income-based and applicants must make less than 50% of the area median to qualify. The authority can provide rental assistance through vouchers and other aid, like economic development loans.
The county also has Housing Support, formerly Group Residential Housing, from the Rice County Social Services.
“The reason it changed the name to housing support is the program no longer deals with just group homes,” Supervisor of Financial Services Jerry Paschke said. “The program has now expanded to cover apartments, to cover other types of residences, or what we call settings for assistance. The other thing I want to point out is it isn’t just for a place to live, it’s also designed to provide other services.”
The benefits of Housing Support include meals, Independent living skills, laundry and housekeeping, financial management, and transportation for those who reside in traditional group homes, assisted living, supported housing, or long-term homelessness residences. The program is state-funded.
The organization Three Rivers Community Action presented their services. They support programs such as Meals on Wheels, Hiawathaland Transit and Head Start. They also focus on affordable housing.
“We have been building and rehabilitating housing in Rice County for 27 years. Housing Development Director Laura Helle said, “Currently, we own 164 places to live in Rice County. Most of those are multi-family with a few single-family homes as well. We have two projects in process in Rice County. They both happen to be in Faribault.”
These two projects are renovating Robinwood Manor and Twin Oaks, a project that built six homes in 2024 and will add eight more this year.
Three Rivers provides resources for homeownership.
“Last year, we served 72 Rice County households with one-on-one advising, which is where we meet with the members of the household, really helping them through understanding the homeownership process, the finance piece, understanding laws and rules and regulations and how to work with the realtor, all those things,” Director of Asset Building and Energy Programs Jeremy Emmi said.
The organization also helps homeowners preserve their homes with weatherization.
“What we usually do is come in, we’ll do an energy audit, we’ll add insulation, we’ll seal the home, and then we can also do things like replace furnaces water heaters and install LED lighting and other energy saving appliances,” Emmi said.
The Community Action Center (CAC) shared the resources they provide. The organization has three food shelves in Rice County that focus on healthy and fresh food access for those who need it.
“There’s kind of a movement throughout food shelves across at least Minnesota, kind of really thinking of it as a place that there’s respect and a lot of dignity,” Executive Director Scott Wopata said. “It feels empowering and is abundantly sourced with fresh and local produce and fruits and vegetables.”
The CAC helps with eviction prevention and rent assistance for those who are severely cost-burdened, spending more than 50% of their income on housing. They are also working on a project in Faribault that will be a net-zero affordable housing development at First Street and First Avenue Northwest.
The organization Northfield Union of Youth (NUY) has several projects that help youth facing homelessness. The Wallflower Project is a volunteer host home network that serves as a resource for homeless youth. NUY has also recently opened their Wallflower House.
“It’s a transitional home that’s offering longer-term accommodations with supportive services to promote independence and self-sustainability,” Executive Director Kelli Podracky said. “It’s located in downtown Northfield, and it’s for young people ages 18 to 24. it’s a substance-free space with case management, weekly life skills, and goal setting.”
Each of these organizations provides a myriad of essential resources and programs that cannot be summed up in a single panel discussion. Their services are constantly evolving and improving to help the people of the county.
The presentation ended with a question-and-answer portion, during which the audience raised topics such as changes to federal funding, aging in place, and intergenerational housing.
Each organization’s representative expressed concern about impending cuts to federal funding and how that may affect their operations. The organizations are unsure about the fate of their funding but encouraged audience members to contact their elected officials to support federal funding for housing and other programs.
“If you care about all of the supportive work that we do in your community, call your elected officials, Helle said. “It’s really important that they hear that we all care about these issues before we face the cuts. Let’s make some noise now.”
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