The Minnesota Housing Agency is teaming up with educators in a historic-first collaboration effort to combat homelessness.

The agency has $40 million to award to schools in Minnesota that teach students how to build homes for low-income families.

Advocates explained the grant will resolve two challenges at once.

On the west side of St. Paul, YouthBuild Gap School students are putting their construction skills to the test.

It may look like just an ordinary house, but the students are laying the foundation for a better future.

“We’ll finish up in the next year or so and sell to a low-income family,” Tony Zahradka, Gap School educator, said. “It’s really unbelievable. The fact that four houses are being built here.”

The Gap School already finished a home that was sold to a family in need. They also have plans to build two more homes in the same area.

Normally, the school depends on grants and donations to build affordable housing, but a new statewide program will help expand its reach.

“This is an opportunity for even more programs to do houses like this to build low-income housing to beautify neighborhoods,” Zahradka said.

The Minnesota Housing Finance Agency will award institutions that teach students construction skills up to $100,000 to build affordable housing.

“It’s an opportunity where we can just not only change education, but change how cities and communities work together to solve their problems,” Khalique Rogers, Center for School Change director, said. “I’m excited to see this home get finished, and to see many more of them get built by young people.”

Rogers helped get this idea off the drawing board and signed into law. He said the secret to success is collaboration.

He lived through homelessness and used his lived experiences to tackle the problem from a new angle.

“If I experienced that over 20 years ago, and we’re still having the same problems today, there’s some systemic barriers that needs to be changed,” Rogers said.

Advocates explained this effort is a new tool to remove barriers in housing and help the youth learn skills to secure a viable career in the construction industry.

It’s a twofold approach to building a better future for Minnesotans.

Rogers is hoping to see this collaboration method adopted nationwide. He’s scheduled to speak at a conference in Boston about the effort.

The Minnesota Housing Agency is accepting grant applications until July 11.