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Executive
Summary 
by Paul Mattessich
Executive Director
African American Income and Poverty in Minnesota - "No Change" Should Motivate Us
"Black household income dipped severely; black poverty has increased. So, we need to take action." News articles since the release of the most recent findings from the Census Bureau have expressed this theme in one way or another. Advocacy groups have vocalized it and have demanded action in response.

But did the trends in black income and black poverty really take an alarmingly sudden and significant wrong turn? Should a one-year change in black household income and black poverty trends cause us to take action? If so, what would we do?

Wilder Research staff member, Allison Liuzzi, explained to Minnesota Public Radio that the black poverty rate moved from about 33% to 38% from 2013 to 2014 in Minnesota, representing 20,000 more people reported in poverty in just one year. However, Allison and her fellow Minnesota Compass staff members have emphasized that in the previous year the poverty rate among blacks had declined by 5 percentage points. The recent change brought the rate back to its high mark for most of the past 10 years. That's the news that she and others want us to understand.

Blips in the statistical trend lines, whether up or down, should not divert our attention from the real story, namely, that one in three black Minnesotans lives in poverty. Even though some numbers shifted back and forth, really "no change" has occurred, and that should disturb us. We must acknowledge the stark and serious fact that the economic status of the black residents of our communities remains dismally low.

So what do we do? ....
SEPTEMBER 2015
New on the Wilder Blog
Mentoring Needs of Minnesota
Families with Children Who are
Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Nicole MartinRogers, senior research manager, teamed up with Beth Quist, director of education services at Lifetrack, to share their takeaways from an assessment of the mentoring needs of the deaf and hard of hearing community. Read the post.
How Well are We Serving Our Youngest Children? Risk and Reach Forum
A September 9 forum introduced findings from a report examining county-by-county data on early childhood development and related services throughout Minnesota. View the report.

Read a Storify wrap up of the event.
Update from Minnesota Compass
6 Things You Should Know About Poverty in Minnesota: Myth-Busters Edition

Minnesota Compass Project Director Craig Helmstetter uses new estimates from the Census Bureau to bust commonly accepted myths about poverty in Minnesota.
Welcome Barry Bloomgren Jr.
Join us in welcoming Data Analyst Barry Bloomgren Jr. to Wilder Research! Barry's previous research work addressed a range of topics, including care management, health disparities, human services, and more.
Read Barry's bio.
Prior Crossing Youth Housing Project
Wilder Research's 2012 Statewide Homeless Study estimates more than 4,000 youth in Minnesota are homeless on any given night. Youth on their own are some of the least visible and most vulnerable people in our community.

Construction began September 21 on Ramsey County's first supportive  housing for youth who have experienced homelessness. Located at University and Prior in Saint Paul, Prior Crossing will include 44 units for youth. The project is the result of a partnership between Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative, The House of Hope Presbyterian Church, and Wilder Foundation, who will provide on-site support services.