Putting FINNOVATION Lessons Into Practice at the MCH Conference
By LaQuita Love-Limo, founder of Rooted in Care Network.
In September I went to the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless (MCH) 2026 Annual Conference in Duluth with a plan. I was going to embrace my fear of failure, embrace public speaking, and take what we did in our FINNOVATION Discovery Module session the week before and put it into practice.
Laquita speaking at the MCH 2026 Annual Conference in Duluth.
Public speaking
I’ll start with public speaking. I was one of a group of MCH Policy Fellowship fellows and alumni who spoke at the conference, and I was the last one to go. After listening to each speech, I became more and more terrified of going up there. But I did it anyway, in front of hundreds of people. Luckily for me, the crowd was no longer 700 strong like it was on day one.
As soon as I finished, I had to run in heels to flip the room for the listening session I was part of.
When my saboteurs showed up
In FINNOVATION we talk about embracing our saboteurs, the things that get in the way of what we are trying to do. Well, on this day my saboteurs showed up in other people, the ones who did not deliver my tables on time (tables are important). But I named it, admonished it, and embraced what was happening, and then I moved forward.
Stripping it down
Now to the fun part. I teasingly said that having to narrow down my purpose was torture, but it actually had a positive impact on me. It taught me to strip things down and get to the core of either what I want or what is happening. So, I decided to share that in the listening session, to show people what happens when you get buried in wanting to do all the things or have all the words.
I gave each group powers they could give to a member of a lived experience group. Then they had to strip away everything that could be taken away without being checked or without consequence. By the end, each group only had one thing left, and they had to sit in the discomfort of what happens to disenfranchised people every day.
That is a reality for a lot of people in our state. Wilder Research’s 2023 Minnesota Homeless Study found at least 10,522 people experiencing homelessness in Minnesota on a single night in October 2023, and Wilder considers that a minimum count. This year’s conference theme was “Holding Hope, Building Power: Collective Action in Community,” and the exercise was my way of showing how easily power can be taken from the people we serve.
What I took away
The biggest lesson for me is that what we practice in FINNOVATION does not have to stay in the room. Naming, embracing, and admonishing my saboteurs got me through a speech I was scared to give and tables that did not arrive on time. Stripping things down to the core helped me design an activity people could actually feel. Both lessons made an impression outside of our room of fellows.
In social entrepreneurship we spend a lot of time on what we can add for the people we serve. This exercise made us look at what can be taken from them, and how easily it happens.
If you work with people who have lived experience, try this exercise with your team. Make a list of the powers you want the people you serve to have. Then cross off every one that could be taken away without anyone checking or without consequence. Look at what is left and talk about what checks are missing.
And to the other fellows in my cohort, if something scares you, do it anyway. I was terrified to go last, and I still got up there.
This work also connects to the venture I’m building, Rooted in Care Network. Our mission is to provide culturally grounded, mobile care and advocacy to BIPOC elders, disabled individuals, and single parents, helping them navigate systems, access resources, and reclaim autonomy. We haven’t launched yet, so stay tuned.
Laquita Love-Limo
LaQuita Love-Limo is the founder of Rooted in Care Network.
ADVANCING EQUITABLE ACCESS AND WHOLE-PERSON WELL-BEING
Rooted in Care Network helps older adults, people with disabilities, caregivers, and people facing housing instability navigate disconnected systems and access needed support. Through care coordination, resource and benefit navigation, advocacy, wellness check-ins, appointment support, and connections to community services, Rooted in Care Network is working to reduce access barriers, strengthen stability and independence, and help people stay healthy, housed, connected, and supported.
Sources
Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless. (2026). 2026 Annual Conference: Holding Hope, Building Power: Collective Action in Community. https://mnhomelessconference.wordpress.com/
Wilder Research. (2024). 2023 Minnesota Homeless Study counts fact sheet. https://www.wilder.org/wp-content/pdf-file/2023_HomelessCounts_FactSheet_3_18_24.pdf