HOMELESS FAMILIES
Who is being served in Hennepin County Shelter and surrounding
areas?
NUMBERS
• In Hennepin County we have the capacity to shelter approximately 350 families per night.
• We also have 125 rooms for overflow shelter.
County Shelter and Free ShelterHow does it work?
Hennepin County
Shelter
*People Serving People
99 rooms
*St. Anne’s Place
16 rooms
*The Drake Hotel
125 rooms
TOTAL: 240
Free Shelter
*Sharing &Caring Hands
100 apartments
*Families Moving Forward
10 Families
TOTAL: 110
Average Stay
• In 2011, the average county shelter stay was around 39.1 days.
• Mary’s Place (Sharing and Caring Hands), is a 30 day program
Who are we serving?
• In 2011, St. Anne’s Place served approximately 123 families, of which 213 were children.
• Children make up the majority of people in our family shelters in Hennepin County.
Young Mom’s
• Young mom’s make up about 30% of people in shelter.
• Services are limited for this population but young parent advocates are working to spread awareness.
What Poverty Does
• In 2011, 80% of all St. Anne’s Place families were unemployed.
• 32% had not completed High School
• 55% were dealing with a mental health issue
Where do people go?
• In 2011, only 49% of the St. Anne’s Place families went to their own apartment out of shelter.
• 30% went to stay with friends and family
Is it the economy?
• Even before the economy crashed, our shelters were full.
• More and more people are unable to afford housing.
Other Counties
• Ramsey County: 55 beds at Maplewood shelter, 40 beds in churches (Project Home).
• Dakota County: 22 family rooms at Dakota Woodlands
• Washington County: Some motel stays• Anoka County: 14 people per night at Family
Promise. (Church based)• Scott County: no shelter• Carver County: no shelter• Wright county: no shelter
What you can do
• Know your resources!!! More than ever, we are relying on networking and community programs to help our families.
• Join Heading Home Hennepin
• Don’t let your agency become an island!
• Work together!
A Portrait of Family Homelessness in America