Hennepin County: Homelessness Not Just an Inner-City Problem

Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners, a nonprofit in Plymouth, hosted its “Community Connect Day” to educate neighbors about housing instability.

David Hewitt, Hennepin County’s housing stability director, spoke to a roomful of people about how the county addresses the issue — a problem he said not every county takes on.

Hewitt shared that the county invests $191 million a year in housing support for those from extremely low incomes to those with moderate incomes. Their work, he explained, largely focuses on instability and impact.

“You need to stop people from falling into that crisis before they do, eviction prevention work. When they are experiencing homelessness, the priority has to be: ‘Get them out as quickly as possible, get them into housing as quickly as possible.’ And the non-recurring, making sure they are not falling back in,” Hewitt explained.

Hewitt speaks to a roomful of people about homelessness data in Hennepin County.

Hewitt also said that the 2024 count revealed there are 3,361 sheltered homeless people in the county. There are 496 unsheltered, a number that he said is lower than other similar-sized counties across the country. That includes Travis County, which contains Austin, Texas.

He said Hennepin County leads the way in eliminating veteran homelessness. He hopes the area can use those same tools to eliminate it in all facets.

Community Connect Day was also a chance for neighbors to gear up for Interfaith Outreach’s annual Sleep Out campaign in November. For the event, neighbors sleep outside throughout the community to raise awareness and money for crisis, short-term and long-term support. Sleep Out information can be found on Interfaith Outreach’s website.

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