Inside Minnesotans’ moonshot to cover rent for their immigrant neighbors

The need for emergency rental assistance is bigger than a GoFundMe, but that’s not stopping residents from trying.

By: Trevor Mitchell

Outlets: MinnPost

Published: February 9, 2026

Words: 1,069

Last Updated: 1 month ago

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On a recent weekday morning as Ashley Fairbanks sat in a salon chair getting her hair done, she put out a call to her 49,000 followers on BlueSky: Twelve families needed their rent paid, urgently.

There was no time for fundraisers or applications for emergency rental assistance; they needed the money now. If anyone had the means to help, she said, they could send money directly to families through Venmo.

Two hours later, those …

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