Overview
Family homelessness is a complex and many faceted issue and addressing it requires keeping the whole picture in view. With that in mind Ten Thirty House is working to address family homelessness in three main areas; short term family shelter, transition to housing out of homelessness and a path towards home ownership.
During the winter months Ten Thirty House is providing short term stays at a local hotel for families experiencing homelessness that are encountered by local police departments.
Local law enforcement refers families to our program 24/7 and we meet the families at the hotel and provide them with personal care items and help them get settled. We then work with families to get them into their own housing as quickly as possible and work through any barriers they have to housing.
Ten Thirty House operates an intermediate term supportive housing program that offers families stays of anywhere from 3 to 24+ months at our house with a cost of no more than 30% of their income.
During their stay at our house we work with families to work through any housing barriers they may have with a special focus on budgeting and financial management.
During their stay at our house we work with families to locate their own permanent housing as quickly as possible to make room for other families; while also being supportive and encouraging through that often difficult process.
In addition to helping families work through any housing barriers and locating permanent housing we also provide home ownership education to our families knowing that many studies have shown that homeownership one of the major ways to help encourage generational stability and wealth.
Most important of all we show the families in our program the love of Jesus while they are at our house. This is often a stressful time for everyone and we strive to continually show and share the amazing grace God has shown all of us to the families in our program; constantly falling short of this goal, but constantly striving.
A Wilder Research Study released in May of 2019 highlighted the disproportionate impact of homelessness on people of color in our community. With people identifying themselves as white making up only 34% of the homeless population while comprising 83% of Minnesota’s general population. Meaning minority groups make up 64% of the homeless population in the state while only comprising 17% of the general population. A cause of this in the report was identified as systemic housing policies. In addition to these systemic housing policies there exists a wealth gap between whites and minorities in the state that home ownership rates are closely correlated with.
Out of these sobering statistics Ten Thirty House has developed a program to help families experience homelessness learn more about and pursue home ownership.
Progress made but still work to do
The fight on homelessness and hopelessness is an ongoing one and if you would like to learn how you can be a part of that battle we would love to hear from you.
If you would like to learn more about Ten Thirty House and our programs please email us at info@tenthirtyhouse.org or give us a call at (612) 293 - 7883.