Impact and Programs
Accomplishments
We’re pleased that, although many of our metrics were impacted by the pandemic, we achieved many of our goals in 2020. In our Housing Stability program area, 85 (Goal 109) homes were created or improved, and 97% (Goal 92%) of PPL households maintained housing for 24 months. Some units planned for completion were delayed to 2021. Housing stability goals were exceeded during the pandemic and we provided residents with additional support for technology access, basic needs assistance, and parenting resources. In our Career Readiness services, 103 (Goal 325) participants secured employment; 89% (Goal 85%) of individuals hired in jobs retained employment for 12 months or more; 96% (Goal 94%) of credit-eligible students graduated from alternative high schools; and $17.96 (Goal $17) average wage upon hire. We secured fewer employment placements due to hiring freezes and other pandemic-related challenges; however, program participants who found employment before the pandemic successfully retained their jobs. Related to our strategic pillars of racial equity, community engagement, and public policy: 59% of staff are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) (Goal to maintain and strengthen BIPOC majority), and 35% (Goal 40%) of PPL Board members are BIPOC. We made significant progress on operationalizing race equity within PPL and on several public policy issues that support housing and economic stability for the people we serve. Through a lengthy process in 2020-21, we also became a HUD-approved Local Housing Counseling Agency, which supports the growth of our work to advance homeownership among Black households.
Current Goals
We have established goals for our major program areas in 2021. In our Housing Stability program area, we expect the following: 95% of households achieve 24-month housing stability; 40 units of affordable housing are created; and 38 units of affordable rental housing are improved. Through our Career Readiness services, 231 individuals are successfully hired; 85% of individuals hired retain employment for 12 months or more; 90% of credit-eligible students graduate from PPL alternative high schools; and an average wage of $17 upon hire. PPL’s work is upheld by three strategic pillars of race, place, and policy that aim to center the communities we serve. The following are a sampling of goals that strengthen these strategic pillars: 40% of PPL Board members are Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC); maintain and strengthen BIPOC PPL staff majority; 75 Community Partners are actively engaged; and 60 residents, students, and/or program participants are engaged around policy and advocacy.
Community or Constituency Served
PPL serves individuals and families with low incomes throughout the Twin Cities region, with a focus in south and north Minneapolis, east and central St. Paul, and several suburbs including St. Louis Park, New Hope, Hopkins, and Robbinsdale. We served 8,000 people in 2020. 89% of residents, participants, and youth served are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC). Of all people served, 72% are Black or African American, 4% are Native American, 2% are Asian, 9% are more than one race, 11% are White, and 2% are another race not identified. Across racial categories, 6% of people served have Latinx ethnicity. More than 90% of the people served by PPL have very low income, with household incomes below 200% of federal poverty ($25,520 for an individual, $52,400 for a family of four). With PPL’s mission to increase assets and self-reliance for our service population, we recognize the impact that race has on access to resources across the board. Racial inequity creates barriers to educational access, employment, housing, and wealth creation—all of which impact economic status of the people we serve. Even with a large store of resilience and motivation to achieve housing stability and advance economically, residents, program participants, and young people who have experienced the impact of inequity take a leap of faith that their persistence will bear fruit. PPL partners with this community to remove barriers as participants make progress on their goals.
Geographic Area Served
PPL served the Twin Cities region of Minnesota, including Minneapolis, St. Paul, and several suburbs.
