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Housing & Transportation
Click here for information on the three most common affordable rental housing programs: Public Housing, Project-Based Section 8 housing, and Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers.

CommonBond Communities
651-291-1750

Minnesota’s largest nonprofit provider of affordable housing. CommonBond has 54 communities serving over 5,500 people who live in 3,800 apartments and townhomes. They offer family, senior, and special needs housing. To find rental housing through CommonBond, click here.

HeatShare
1-800-842-7279
HeatShare is a program of The Salvation Army that has been in existence since 1982. HeatShare provides energy assistance on a year-round basis. Funds are used for natural gas, fuel oil, propane, electricity, and furnace checkup and repairs.

Housing Link
612-522-2500

A non-profit organization focused on providing information about affordable rental housing options in the Twin Cities seven-county metropolitan area. Resources include overviews of housing programs and terminology, weekly lists of vacancies, Section 8 Voucher information, directories of housing, and a vacancy-locating service. If you live outside the seven-county metro area, you can visit these web sites for similar information: www.minnesotahelp.org and www.firstcallnet.org.

Housing Resources ToolBox
This website can help individuals and their family members find housing and services in their communities. It provides information on a variety of living arrangements and services in Minnesota, and the resources available to help pay for them.

Link-Up
The Link-Up program provides a discount on new service connection charges when installing new telephone service. The federal Lifeline and state Telephone Assistance Plan programs provide a monthly discount on your local telephone service. To qualify for these programs, telephone service must be in your name and you must have income at or below 135% of the federal poverty guidelines or participate in qualifying public programs.

Minnesota Home Ownership Center
866-462-6466 or 651-659-9336
This organization offers mortgage counseling, credit repair, mortgage refinance information and many other helpful and preventative measures that can be taken to prevent foreclosure.

Minnesota Multi Housing Association Renters’ Hotline
952-858-8222

The Minnesota Multi Housing Association (MHA) has established a special hotline phone number for renters to find answers to common questions on subjects such as security deposits, leases, Certificates of Rent Paid, evictions, repairs and maintenance, cleaning, and giving notice to vacate. Click here for a list of commonly asked questions and answers on the website.

Stay Warm Minnesota
The Stay Warm Minnesota campaign was launched to help every Minnesota family experience a safe and comfortable winter without having their home heating bills overtake the entire family budget. This website is full of useful information regarding energy efficiency and heating assistance programs provided by the federal and state government, private industry, non profits and our energy utilities.

Weatherization
651-297-2545
The Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) uses energy conservation techniques to reduce the cost of home energy. Correcting health and safety hazards and potentially life-threatening conditions is the first consideration in WAP activities. Households who are at or below 50 percent of the state median income are eligible. All homeowners and renters who are income eligible for Energy Assistance are income eligible for WAP. Priority is given to households with at least one elderly or disabled member and to customers with the highest heating costs.

Transportation

Ways to Work Loan Program
Ways to Work is a proven, innovative program that provides small loans to low-income parents who cannot get loans elsewhere. All Ways to Work loans are used to help individuals remain in or move forward in their job. The vast majority of our loans are made for the purchase of modestly priced used vehicles or vehicle repair. Click here for eligibility criteria. This directory is a list of metro area and some statewide organizations that facilitate Ways to Work.

Metro Transit
Get schedule, route and fare information for the bus, the Hiawatha Light Rail, Dial-a-Ride, and Metro Mobility for persons with disabilities. Call 612-341-4287 for recorded departure times for any route, 24 hours a day. To speak to a representative call 612-373-3333. TTY: 612-341-0140.