FELONY FRIENDLY HOUSING and EMPLOYMENT RESOURCES
FELONY FRIENDLY HOUSING
About Beyond Backgrounds
What is Beyond Backgrounds?
A program that provides support to landlords who are willing to rent to someone with criminal, credit or rental history barriers in their background.
When a landlord rents to a Beyond Backgrounds participant, they have access to up to $2,000 of free insurance in the following circumstances:
- Damage to the unit beyond what the security deposit covers.
- Unpaid rent at the end of the lease term beyond what is covered by the security deposit.
- Court filing fees if an eviction is pursued beyond what is covered by the security deposit.
- Other unfortunate circumstances beyond what is covered by the security deposit.
Is it effective?
Take a look at our Beyond Backgrounds Impact Report below.
How do you get such good results?
Most renters in Beyond Backgrounds have case management support and rental assistance. We also reach out to all program participants (both landlords and renters) each month to check in and see how things are going. We are also available during business hours to discuss issues as needed.
Questions?
Email BeyondBackgrounds@HousingLink.org
Testimonials
"The tenant and her daughter were very excited to have a home. Even though her background was a bit suspicious, we felt comfortable renting to her with the extra support."
~K.H., Inver Grove Heights Landlord
"I was having a lot of trouble getting accepted to an apartment. I finally found a place that was close to the neighborhood my children were used to. I didn't meet the qualifications for renting because my income and credit score were a little lower than they wanted. Thankfully, the landlord was willing to accept the landlord insurance policy in place of the eligibility criteria, and my kids and I now have a safe place to live."
~I.J., West St. Paul Renter
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Helping people meet daily, basic needs after incarceration.
Amicus Reconnect’s free drop-in services help individuals who have been incarcerated connect to the ingredients of day-to-day living such as housing, employment, and transportation. Most of the people we serve have recently left a correctional facility and are experiencing how difficult it can be for people with criminal records to find basic necessities like employment and stable housing. Some people return to Reconnect in need of assistance such as low-cost transit passes or connections to meals, clothing, or furniture.
Eligibility
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Felony Friendly resources for housing and employment
The Minnesota reentry program and assistance page is a big work in progress. We try to keep our eyes out for more programs to add to the page. If your Minnesota reentry program is not listed here, please contact us if you would like it to be. Your program will be reviewed as soon as possible once we receive it. If we feel that it is a good addition to our Minnesota reentry programs page, we will add it.
Also, please contact us if there are any issues with a Minnesota reentry program that is listed here. We do try to keep this page as up to date as possible, but we’re not perfect. Sometimes we do miss things, and appreciate them being pointed out to us. We will fix issues as soon as we find them or they are brought to our attention.
If you are looking for information on voting with a felony in Minnesota, please look on our Voting Rights page. That page has a list of all 50 states’ laws regarding ex-offender voting rights.
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How to overcome a criminal background in your housing search.