The Stable Homes Stable Schools program was inspired by a sobering statistic: one of 15 elementary students in the Minneapolis Public Schools experiences homelessness. Stable Homes Stable Schools provides direct rental assistance to these families through a powerful partnership. School social workers connect with families in need. The City of Minneapolis, Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA), and Pohlad Family Foundation fund one-time and ongoing rental assistance, administered by MPHA. The YMCA supports the family’s housing search, connects them (along with Hennepin County) to a web of supportive services, and helps families re-engage with their children’s classrooms. Since 2019, Stable Homes has now reached more than 2,600 children — and counting.
Stable Homes Stable Schools was motivated by the 3,000 Minneapolis Public School children facing homelessness, as well as long-term, longitudinal research showing that that housing subsidies and stable homes for young children in poverty could bring a lifetime increase in earnings. MPHA began a conversation with a single elementary school in North Minneapolis about piloting a program to make some headway for families like these. This idea then grew exponentially when the Minneapolis mayor, city economic development staff, and Minneapolis Public Schools leaders came to the table, broadening the concept to 15 schools (later increased to 18) and a three-year pilot that would ultimately provide one-time or three-year rental assistance and support services to almost 900 families and 2,600 children since launching in March 2019. In 2021, Stable Homes Stables Schools has become a permanent part of the City of Minneapolis budget.
“V” is a single mother with six-year-old twin sons who have special needs, who became homeless after losing her job. Her children had to change schools often during this time, and they were frequently late or absent. “I was not that attentive and responsive parent that I used to be, because I was working tirelessly to provide a stable home for my family and I just could not catch a break,” V says. If it wasn’t for the Stable Homes Stable Schools program, “I don’t know where my family would be. This program has allowed me to effectively keep in contact with my kids’ teachers and be involved in their learning plan, helping them progress and reach their goals. I’m so proud to see them excel academically. It is really, truly amazing to see them learn and grow every day when they no longer have to worry about housing insecurity.”
In its size, scope, and structure, Stable Homes Stable Schools stands out as nationally unprecedented. In creating the program, MPHA researched smaller scale PHA-school partnerships that provide assistance to families of children experiencing homelessness. However, the financial contributions of the City of Minneapolis and Pohlad Family Foundation enabled a city-wide program that reaches thousands of young children.
The program’s model recognizes that one type of subsidy will not suit all families, and has innovated to adapt to conditions on the ground. In forming the initial program, it became clear that schools would identify many families who were not yet homeless (and would thus not be eligible for the ongoing housing subsidy) but were facing instability and could easily tip over into homelessness. This brought about the involvement of a major local philanthropy, The Pohlad Family Foundation, to create the Stable Homes Stable Schools Housing Stability Fund that provides one-time assistance and supportive services to help families back from the brink. MPHA was able to take on the additional administration of this privately funded subsidy, which has been replenished with subsequent investments from the Pohlad Family Foundation and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
As COVID-19 upended the lives of low-income families in Minneapolis in 2020, the program adapted yet again. The City of Minneapolis designated a new pool of funding for emergency housing assistance for any families of elementary students—regardless of school—who had fallen behind on housing expenses because of the pandemic. MPHA took on the administration of this new component, using the Stable Homes Stable Schools framework to get urgent funding to families who needed to stabilize their housing during the pandemic.
The program is designed to be reflective and to evolve as needed. A Stable Homes Stable Schools Parent Advisory Council is comprised of parents in the program who provide feedback and shape how it develops. In 2020, the University of Minnesota is beginning its crucial partnership role of research and program assessment, so that MPHA and other cities and housing authorities can learn from, and improve upon, the model.
For more information contact Jeff Horwich, Director of Policy & Communications, MPHA at jhorwich@mplspha.org.
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