Helpful Resources
- Housing Benefits 101 (HB 101) helps people who need affordable housing, and supports to maintain that housing, understand the range of housing options and support services available. HB101 can help you make choices about where you want to live. It can also help you figure out a long-term housing plan that works for you, and the steps to move toward your housing goals.
- Disability Benefits 101 (DB 101) provides helpful information about state and federal resources available for people who are disabled, young, elderly, pregnant, or have low income.
- Legal Aid Service of Northeast MN offers civil (not criminal) legal help for low-income individuals who cannot afford the services of a private civil attorney.
- HomeLine provides free and low-cost legal, organizing, education, and advocacy services so that tenants throughout Minnesota can solve their own rental housing problems.
- HousingLink access to information and services that help renters get and keep housing they can afford.
- MN Energy Assistance Program pays towards heat, electricity, and past due water costs. Energy Assistance is free for all eligible households. Applications must be submitted through your local Energy Assistance Partner.
- HUD Resource Locator includes a map of subsidized housing, moderate income housing, and public housing authorities.
- HUD Resources for Rental Help in Minnesota provides links to resources in Minnesota including lists of Public Housing Authorities, subsidized apartments, and housing counseling.
Coordinated Entry
Coordinated Entry (CE) is a process that helps connect people experiencing homelessness to programs that meet their needs for housing and support. Coordinated Entry helps make sure all people experiencing a housing crisis have fair and equal access to housing and assistance based on their strengths and needs.
Through Coordinated Entry, people complete one common assessment and are placed on a shared list for local homeless programs. This helps prevent people who are in a housing crisis from having to go to multiple different agencies and fill out multiple applications to connect to homeless programs.
Through Coordinated Entry, people complete one common assessment and are placed on a shared list for local homeless programs. This helps prevent people who are in a housing crisis from having to go to multiple different agencies and fill out multiple applications to connect to homeless programs.
Coordinated Entry Eligibility
In the Northeast Continuum of Care, eligibility for housing programs who participate in Coordinated Entry includes people who are:
If you aren't sure if you qualify, contact one of the CES Access Points listed below. They will complete a screening assessment with you to help figure out if you are eligible for CES programs and to refer you to other resources that can help you.
- Unsheltered - Living on the streets or in places not meant for habitation (like a camper of fish house without heat or water)
- Staying in emergency shelter
- At imminent risk of losing their housing within the next 14 days
- Temporarily staying with friends or family and have to leave in the next 14 days
- Leaving a domestic violence situation
If you aren't sure if you qualify, contact one of the CES Access Points listed below. They will complete a screening assessment with you to help figure out if you are eligible for CES programs and to refer you to other resources that can help you.
Coordinated Entry Priorities
To make sure that people with higher needs have access to resources, Continuums of Care are required to prioritize people for homeless programs based on their needs. In the Northeast CoC, people are prioritized based on the following criteria:
- Chronic Homeless - If a person has experienced homelessness for at least a year – or repeatedly – while struggling with a disabling condition such as a serious mental illness, substance use disorder, or physical disability.
- Length of Time Homeless - How many months a person has experienced homelessness.
- Disability Status - Whether the person has a disability of long duration such as a serious mental illness, substance use disorder, or physical disability.
- MN Long Term Homeless - If the person has been without a home for a year or more OR has had at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years.
- Length of time on the Coordinated Entry Priority List - How long a person has been on the NE CoC Coordinated Entry priority list.
How to Access Coordinated Entry in the NE CoC
Step 1: Reach out to an access point in your county (listed below).
Step 2: Complete a Coordinated Entry assessment with a trained assessor.
Step 3: If you qualify, your name and housing assessment information will be added to the NE CoC Coordinated Entry Priority List.
Step 4: If a housing program has an opening for you, you will meet with them to make sure it's a good match - that it meets your needs, you want to participate in that specific program, and that you meet all of the program's eligibility requirements.
- The access point staff will complete a prescreen with you to see if you are eligible for Coordinated Entry programs and give you referrals for other resources that might help you.
- If you are eligible, make sure to let the access point know if you would prefer an in-person or phone appointment for your assessment. Please be aware that some agencies are only able to offer phone assessments.
Step 2: Complete a Coordinated Entry assessment with a trained assessor.
- Depending on where you live, you might do your assessment right after talking to the access point staff or make an appointment with an assessor for the near future.
- Make sure to come prepared with helpful information like your housing history (where you've stayed over the past 3 years).
- This assessment will help identify if you are eligible for programs through Coordinated Entry and what housing and supports might be most helpful based on your needs and choices.
Step 3: If you qualify, your name and housing assessment information will be added to the NE CoC Coordinated Entry Priority List.
- Be sure to stay in touch with your assessor regularly while you are waiting, to let them know if your contact information or living situation changes. If your assessor doesn't hear from you after a certain amount of time, you will be removed from the priority list until they hear from you again.
- It's important that you continue to look for housing on your own. Program placement through Coordinated Entry is not guaranteed. If you find a housing unit, contact your assessor to see if they can help with resources that you need to move in such as rent and utility deposits.
- Tell your assessor if you find housing or if you no longer want to be considered for homeless programs through Coordinated Entry. They will remove your name from the priority list.
Step 4: If a housing program has an opening for you, you will meet with them to make sure it's a good match - that it meets your needs, you want to participate in that specific program, and that you meet all of the program's eligibility requirements.
Coordinated Entry Access Points
County |
Access Points |
Aitkin County |
Lakes & Pines: 1-800-832-6082 |
Carlton County |
Lakes & Pines: 1-800-832-6082 HDC Homeless Program: 218-879-4559 |
Cook County |
AEOA: 218-623-3033 |
Itasca County |
First Call for Help 2-1-1: 218-326-8565 |
Koochiching County |
First Call for Help 2-1-1: 218-326-8565 Servants of Shelter: 218-285-2092 |
Lake County |
AEOA: 218-623-3033 |
Fond du Lac Reservation |
Fond du Lac Human Services: 218-879-1227 |
Each of the 10 Continuums of Care (CoC) in Minnesota have their own Coordinated Entry System. How you access Coordinated Entry and eligibility is different in each region. If you or someone you know is experiencing homelessness and needs help in another area in Minnesota, please check the HB101 Coordinated Entry Access Point Map.
