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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity Commission (HRDC) - 04/09/2026Meeting Agenda Eden Prairie Human Rights and Diversity Commission 7 p.m. Thursday, April 9, 2026 Heritage Rooms 1 & 2 8080 Mitchell Road Eden Prairie, MN 55344 ATTENDEES Commission Members: Gregory Leeper, Chair; Asad Aliweyd, Shana Bates, Shalanda Berry, Zaheer Khan, Jody Knight, Jessica Oaxaca, Brenda Pfahnl, Wendi Russo, John Urbanski, Susan Weaver Student Commission Members: Nawal Abdullahi, Omar Abdulle, Abdulrahman Ali, Jia Chenchlani, Roshini Drakshapally, Ikra Ibrahim, Shivashish Khanna, Anjolaoluwa Raimi, Gatrika Ravella City Staff: Paja Xiong, Community Services Manager & Staff Liaison, Julie Krull, Recorder MEETING AGENDA I. Call the Meeting to Order II. Introduction of Guests – None. III. Approval of Agenda IV. Minutes from HRDC meeting held Thursday, March 12, 2026 V. Community Presentation – None. VI. Old Business a. Community Conversation – 7:00 pm – 7:30 pm b. PeopleFest! Planning and Updates – 7:30 pm – 8:00 pm VII. New Business – None. VIII. Next Meeting – June 11, 2026 IX. Adjournment Unapproved Minutes Eden Prairie Human Rights and Diversity Commission 7 p.m. Thursday, March 12, 2026 Heritage Rooms 1 & 2 8080 Mitchell Road Eden Prairie, MN 55344 ATTENDEES Commission Members: Gregory Leeper, Chair; Asad Aliweyd, Shana Bates, Shalanda Berry, Zaheer Khan, Jody Knight, Jessica Oaxaca, Brenda Pfahnl, Wendi Russo, John Urbanski, Susan Weaver Student Commission Members: Nawal Abdullahi, Omar Abdulle, Abdulrahman Ali, Jia Chenchlani, Roshini Drakshapally, Ikra Ibrahim, Shivashish Khanna, Anjolaoluwa Raimi, Gatrika Ravella City Staff: Paja Xiong, Community Services Manager & Staff Liaison, Julie Krull, Recorder MEETING AGENDA I. Call to Order/Roll Call Chair Leeper called the meeting to order at 7:06 p.m. Commission Members Berry, Oaxaca, Russo, and Student Commission Members Abdulle, Ali, Ibrahim, Khanna, and Raimi were absent. Commission Member Aliweyd arrived during the Community Presentation. II. Introduction of Guests Chair Leeper introduced Grecia Lozano and Mary Fuentes from Latino Voices of Minnesota. III. Approval of Agenda MOTION: PFAHNL moved, seconded by KHAN, to approve the agenda. Motion carried 7-0. IV. Approval of the February 12, 2026 Meeting Minutes MOTION: URBANSKI moved, seconded by WEAVER, to approve the agenda. Motion carried 7-0. V. Community Presentation A. Latino Voices of Minnesota Xiong introduced Grecia Lozano and her mother Mary Fuentes. They are co-founders of Latino Voices of Minnesota. Ms. Lozano stated their organization has been around for 8 years. They established because of the need to create a future where every Latino voice is heard, valued, and empowered in Minnesota. They began as a grassroots initiative led HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES March 12, 2026 2 by migrant volunteers. She pointed out their mission is to address gaps in representation and to provide support to families and to tackle challenges. She stated, aside from her mother and herself as co-founders, they have two case managers; Evelyn Hanson, and Melani Coleman and one volunteer coordinator, Marlys Casper. Some of the services they address are; domestic violence, rental assistance programs, connecting individuals with county services, assistance in filing out court forms, resource referrals, hygiene and food deliveries, assisting in making medical and dental appointments for low-income households, and making appointments for the food shelf. They also assist in connecting individuals with immigration lawyers; this is a free service to ask legal questions. Ms. Lozano pointed out what makes them different from other organizations is that they are a one-on-one model assessment. They identify the family's specific needs, barriers, and accessibility to programs. They find resources through one-on-one assessment. She stated they are only open Fridays from 11 am - 5 pm and pointed out in 2024 they had 970 visits. Their impact was 36% legal questions, 32% health and wellness, 11% housing and 6% domestic. Ms. Lozano said their name is an acronym for their values: Voice - give voice to the community, Organize, Inspire - learn to appreciate culture, Connect - address processes with people, Equip - educate individuals to empower them, Serve - providing support for families. She stated they have recently found out that Eden Prairie offers a grant that could assist them and pointed out they want to establish a group of volunteers to get people back in the community and heal them. She said the way to get involved is through volunteering, spreading the word, and donations. Their website is latiovoices.org. Ms. Lozano said they have not had any federal, state or city grants and commented they did not get attacked by ICE because they did not receive any funding. They do not report any names to the government. Pfahnl asked if clients need help for appointments who do they serve. Ms. Lozano responded they have a list of providers they can refer individuals to so they can get free services. Translators are also provided if the individual cannot speak English. Khan asked where the organization is located. Ms. Lozano responded they are located in Chanhassen. Khan asked how people connect with them. Ms. Lozano said they can be referred by organizations such as schools, but most of them are referred by neighbors or word of mouth from people they have helped. Abdullah asked if volunteers from the inner-city offer different help than suburban volunteers. Ms. Lozano responded yes, as there is a language barrier and commented they need more suburban language translators. Urbanski asked what the difference is with C.L.U.E.S. Ms. Lozano said the difference is they take referrals and C.L.U.E.S basically rely on organizations. Chenchlani asked if they are looking to apply for federal funding. Ms. Lozano said if they do, they will be very careful because they do not want to expose the trust of the community without spreading names or addresses. Khan asked what are next steps since ICE is gone. Ms. Lozano said the next steps would be healing. She commented the HRDC needs to reach out to individuals so they know they are being heard. She said they are non-partisan and they want to stay away from HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES March 12, 2026 3 anything political but will support people that can vote and will assist them in their needs to get to the polls. Aliweyd commented there is a lot of support from different foundations in the community. Chair Leeper thanked Ms. Lozano and Ms. Fuentes for all their organization is doing for the community. B. Staff Liaison Update – Housing Community Services Division Xiong gave an update of what her department has been doing the past quarter. Some of the highlights are as follows: 1. The City allocated $125,000 to PROP for their emergency rental assistance program. 2. With the support of the community, the City donated over 5,000 pounds of food and toiletries to PROP and the PROP Shop, and Senior Community Services. 3. In response to the community, the City created a PSA on What’s App to share service delivery information. The City does serve most of the Somali community but are now seeing other languages coming in. The City does have the capacity to translate over the phone. 4. They have helped first time home buyers. 5. And have given grants to local non-profit organizations. Xiong said some of the community groups she is a part of are as follows: • Community Engagement Impact Council (CEIC) • Eden Prairie Family Services Collaborative • Housing Supports Coalition • MN Equity Connect • Multi-family Support and Resources Group • Belong and Culture Work Group Pfahnl asked what kind of grants the City gives out. Xiong responded it can be for families, individuals and seniors for such things as funding to supply food shelves. The grants just have to be used for Eden Prairie residents. The organizations that apply will get grants anywhere from $2,000 on up. The organizations do not have to be located in Eden Prairie but have to service Eden Prairie. VI. Old Business There was no old business this evening. VII. New Business A. PeopleFest! Planning and Updates Xiong said PeopleFest will be held July 26 to July 31. The PeopleFest party will be held indoors at Central Middle School on Sunday, July 26. The HRDC’s Community Conversation can be done on Tuesday, July 28 or Wednesday, July 29. Xiong said she is seeking funding for a speaker to come to the event once a topic is decided on. After some discussion the Commission decided to have the Community Conversation on Tuesday, July 28. She also pointed out the Commission will be responsible for the restaurant guide and that is due in May. She suggested not asking restaurants for gift cards due to the recent economic impact on restaurants. Khan thought the gift cards HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES March 12, 2026 4 may promote more business for the restaurants. Xiong suggested bringing flyers to the restaurants for them to disperse and let them know they are also represented in the guide. Urbanski asked if the Commission could get money from a grant and purchase the gift cards. Chair Leeper responded that can be discussed at a later meeting. VIII. Next Meeting: April 9, 2026 IX. Adjournment MOTION: URBANSKI moved, seconded by KNIGHT, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 8-0. CHAIR LEEPER adjourned the meeting at 8:27 pm.