Item Description:
title
Commendation of Mikkel Beckmen - offered by Commissioner Conley
end
WHEREAS:
body
WHEREAS, Mikkel Beckmen began his career with Hennepin County in 2016 as Housing Coordinator, prior to which Mikkel directed the County - City Office to End Homelessness as a City of Minneapolis employee for three years; and
WHEREAS, Mr Beckmen has spent 34 years in our community working to prevent and end homelessness; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Beckmen played critical roles in many programs during his time with Hennepin including the Stable Families Initiative, Minnehaha Townhomes, the development of the Supportive Housing Strategy, the Child Protection Housing Task Force, the Tenant Resource Center, the hotel shelter response during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Housing Court partnership with Adult Representation Services, and Schools to Housing, to name a few; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Beckmen has consistently set out a vision for Hennepin County to support households who are at risk of eviction or otherwise losing their homes, thereby making homelessness ‘rare’; and
WHEREAS, Mr Beckmen continuously sought and leveraged federal, state, local and philanthropic resources to maximize housing options; and
WHEREAS, Mr Beckmen led a newly created team to swiftly deploy the historic Federal Emergency Rental Assistance funds earning Hennepin a “high performer” rating during the pandemic, successfully disbursing more than $30m to residents in need and building a new streamlined rental assistance process that is now being used to disburse new State funds; and
WHEREAS, his innovative thinking and strategic vision will be sorely missed.
Resolution:
BE IT RESOLVED, that the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners acknowledges Mikkel Beckmen’s accomplishments, thanks him for a career dedicated service and wishes him well in all future endeavors.
end
Background:
recommendation
Recommendation from County Administrator: Recommend Approval