Community Partnerships Manager
M Health Fairview
FOCUS
The focus of Larry’s work in the Twin Cities region is to cultivate a culture of health that expects all communities—regardless of geography, race, or ethnicity—receive the investment, access to power, and opportunity its members require to live full, healthy lives in which all are treated fairly. Currently, the Twin Cities health statistics mask entrenched racial inequities and disparities in health outcomes. As a result, race, income, and zip code are predictors of life outcomes. Larry is working to build a culture of health in the Twin Cities through community engagement, equitable development and policy change. He believes that through community organizing, equitable development and cross-sector partnerships we can reweave the fabric of community so that all of us can do better.
STRATEGIC INITIATIVE: Build Organizing Capacity to Protect Tenant Rights in Hopkins, Minnesota
The overall health of residents in Hopkins is threatened by the acceleration of gentrification. Residents in the city of Hopkins are at risk of displacement because of a light rail transit line, which will have three station stops in the community, adding upward pressure on land value and rents. Tenants make up the majority of the population in Hopkins; approximately 67 percent of the housing units are rental, and of those tenants, 44 percent are cost burden (Minnesota Compass). My initiative will build the capacity of the Hopkins Housing team to organize the community (40% people of color, renters, immigrants/refugees) to secure policy changes protecting tenant rights and produce and preserve affordable housing. Currently, all census tracts within Hopkins are vulnerable to gentrification, with one census tract already gentrifying (Goetz and Damiano, 2019).
MORE ABOUT LARRY
Larry Hiscock is a father and husband living in the Twin Cities. Larry has been working to advance racial and economic justice for over 20 years. His work has been in community organizing, community development, philanthropy, and cross-sector partnerships. He firmly believes that organized people can change the course of their community.
Click here to watch Larry’s Legacy Project video.