Bipartisan bill would provide $400,000 grant to Project Legacy

Rochester area lawmakers are pushing forward a bill that would provide $400,000 in funding for Project Legacy. 

The bill, authored by a bipartisan group of legislators, cleared its first hurdle last week when it was approved by the Minnesota House Health and Human Services Reform Committee. A companion bill has been introduced in the Minnesota Senate by State Sen. Dave Senjem of Rochester.

“Providing young people with the support they need to take the next step in their education and careers is an important issue all legislators can get behind,” said the bill's author, Rep. Nels Pierson. (Reps. Duane Sauke, Tina Liebling and Duane Quam signed on as co-authors of the bill.)

Founded in 2008, Project Legacy provides long-term support to help area youth in their journey out of poverty, incarceration and addiction. The organization uses as an approach that confronts immediate needs, such as employment and housing, while simultaneously addressing underlying issues including poverty, mental health disorders, substance abuse and lack of education. Many of the youth Project Legacy works with are refugees, homeless, formerly gang-involved or recently incarcerated. 

"We are very grateful to have bipartisan support for this bill," Karen Light Edmonds, co-founder of Project legacy, told us today. "The funding it would provide is critical for the resources we provide for youth of color in Rochester who do not have strong support systems."

You can learn more about Project Legacy's mission on its website.