Meet Kurt Johnson, Metro Regional Director, Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans

Bridging partners with the Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans (MACV), a nonprofit agency whose mission is to end veteran homelessness in Minnesota. Serving the community of Minnesota veterans, the MACV team offers multifaceted services focused on housing stability, physical and mental health, employment, and other diverse needs.

Kurt Johnson, the Metro Regional Director at MACV, manages the agency’s Housing Stability, Employment, Outreach, Intake, and Triage teams which offer resources to veterans in Hennepin County, Ramsey County, and the Twin Cities suburban metro area. He describes how their team works alongside veterans transitioning to housing stability:

“We’re lucky to have so many tools in our toolbox. We don’t just offer rental assistance. We saw there was a need for specialization of services and have grown our programing to try and meet the holistic demands of our veterans. We have staff who specialize in housing stability, employment search, health care navigation, justice involvement, financial counseling, tenancy assistance, landlord engagement, and more.”

Through federal and state partnerships, MACV helps Minnesota veterans secure housing subsidies that ensure they will pay no more than 30% of their income for housing costs or 50% of their rent. MACV has also expanded the number of supportive housing units available to veterans who are experiencing the most significant barriers to housing.

The team that Kurt oversees is comprised of four essential programs that focus on the needs of veterans who are transitioning to housing stability. The Housing Stability team is even further specialized, either supporting veterans who are currently experiencing homelessness or helping prevent them from becoming homeless.

“We have case managers who hit the ground running,” says Kurt. “They talk to the veterans, get to know them and their needs — how long they have been homeless. The case manager is their partner, connecting them to housing and other resources, like Bridging. We know the veterans who are experiencing homelessness by name.”

The prevalence of veteran homelessness in Minnesota has decreased significantly in recent years due to this individualized approach and collaborative efforts of MACV and its partners to reach what is called Functional Zero.

“Ending Veteran Homeless’ means that an episode of homelessness will be rare, brief, and non-recurring.,” he says. “Thanks to the investments made by our state and the support of our community partners like Bridging, the number of Veterans experiencing homelessness in Hennepin and Ramsey counties are the lowest we have ever seen.”

The Minnesota Veterans Registry is available for veterans who would like to connect with housing and other services. The registry also provides point-in-time information about the numbers of Minnesota Veterans who are currently unhoused or at risk of losing their housing. MACV assists veterans, person by person, to get the help they need along with other entities like the Community Resource and Referral Center at the Office of Veteran Affairs which also provides helpful resources for veterans.

Once a veteran secures housing, a MACV case manager assists with a referral to Bridging. MACV utilizes grant funding to cover the fee for a foundational home setup of furniture and essential household goods selected by each veteran.

Kurt values MACV’s partnership with Bridging because of the dignity and stability that a furnished home provides:

“We want to make sure every veteran has not just a place to live, but what they need to make it a place they call home. A home is more than four walls. It’s a couch, a table, a bed to sleep on, dishes — items a lot of us take for granted but are what our veterans need to live with respect and dignity.”

“With a furnished home, each person can focus on their next chapter in life, whether it’s their job or just having a place for their grandkids to come visit.  There are a lot of tears of joy when the Bridging delivery truck comes.”