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Multilingual Video Program Tackles Fair Housing Basics for New Minnesotans

March 7, 2016

ECHO Minnesota Presents: “A Good Safe Place to Live”

Saint Paul, Minn. (March 7, 2016) – Finding safe, affordable rental housing can be a challenge for new arrivals to Minnesota, especially for immigrants and refugees dealing with language and cultural barriers. Many don’t know their rights as tenants, or their responsibilities.

To help new Minnesotans understand their rights and responsibilities as tenants, Twin Cities PBS (TPT) program “ECHO” produced a short video in five languages, covering the basics of tenant and landlord rights and obligations. The program “A Good, Safe Place to Live” is available in these languages: Hmong, Karen, Somali, Spanish and basic English.

“The goal is to equip our neighbors with basic knowledge of the laws that protect them, around discrimination, home safety and potentially predatory landlords,” said Kari Collins from Roseville’s City Manager’s office. “But it’s also teaching them to be good tenants by maintaining a clean home, reporting problems and paying rent on time.”

The program was developed in collaboration with more than thirty community and governmental partners, including housing and redevelopment authorities and community development agencies from the seven-county metro area, as well as legal aid organizations, state housing authorities and others.

The program premieres statewide on TPT’s Minnesota Channel on April 11, 2016, and is also available on DVD, and online at tpt.org/echo. In addition, a curriculum for English Language Learning classrooms is in development, allowing adult learners to discover more about housing issues while mastering English. Furthermore, ECHO plans to pair its cultural outreach coordinators with educators around the state to help communities absorb this important information.

“All members of our community deserve safe, affordable housing,” said ECHO’s Somali communication & partner specialist Fathia Absie. “This huge team of partner agencies worked hard to give our new neighbors the information they need. The program not only provides helpful facts, it also points viewers to the many resources available to them in their community. If tenants and landlords both follow the rules and do the right thing, rental housing is a great, safe place to live.”

 

About TPT
The mission of TPT is to “enrich lives and strengthen our community through the power of media.”

As one of the nation’s leading public media organizations, Twin Cities PBS (TPT) uses television, interactive media and community engagement to advance education, culture and citizenship. Over its nearly 60-year history, TPT has been recognized for its innovation and creativity with numerous awards, including Peabody awards and national and regional Emmys.

Based in St. Paul, MN, TPT is the most highly viewed public TV station in the nation, reaching over 1.7 million people each month through multiple broadcast and online channels. The organization’s particular areas of focus include: the educational readiness of children; serving the needs and unleashing the potential of America’s aging population; engaging a new generation in the power of public media; and being the preferred media partner for organizations that align with our mission to enrich lives and strengthen community.

For more information about TPT, visit our website at www.tpt.org or join us on Facebook and Twitter.

 

About ECHO Minnesota
ECHO Minnesota is service of Twin Cities PBS (TPT). ECHO’s mission is to collaborate with diverse communities to deliver programs and services that help people be healthy, contribute, and succeed. ECHO Minnesota has been working with public, private, and nonprofit agencies across the state since 2004 to ensure that immigrants and refugees are prepared in the event of an emergency. ECHO has since created over 100 multimedia multilingual resources about safety, emergency preparedness, health, and civic engagement.

For more information about ECHO Minnesota, visit our website at www.tpt.org/echo or join us on Facebook and Twitter.

 

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Contact:
Elle Lyons, Twin Cities PBS Communications Manager
[email protected]
172 East 4th Street, Saint Paul, MN
Phone: (651) 229-1491

© Twin Cities Public Television - 2016. All rights reserved.

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