The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) won the 2015 Tekne award for best "Collaboration for Community Impact" with their campaign to end Veteran homelessness.

This section "recognizes a collaboration or partnership that demonstrates leadership, dedication and excellence in delivering an innovation to Minnesota while meeting an unmet community need." This unmet need was the more than 300 homeless Veterans in Minnesota that now have been identified and are transitioning into a place to call home.

The award also recognizes services that "assist an under-served population or community, enhance quality or life, health or safety for the community at large, or promote an innovative job creation strategy." These once-homeless Veterans are getting a place to stay, but are also working with personnel from the WorkForce Minnesota to find employment.

The collaboration of MDVA with many state resources to find these Veterans safe housing and constant dedication to the mission of ending Veteran Homelessness is what made MDVA a great representative of what the Tekne Awards stand for.

The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs helps out over 360,000 of Minnesota Veterans, now the department gets the honor to know that these Veterans can say that they have come "all the way home."

The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs would like to thank Governor Dayton, the Mayors of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and MDVA workers Eric Grumdahl, Dave Money, and James Kauth for all of their hard work, support and being an integral part of the initiative from start to finish.