Simpson Housing Services
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Administrative Office
Office Hours |
Phone: (612) 874-8683 Fax: (612) 879-0041 Email: info@simpsonhousing.org |
If you are mailing artwork for Art 4 Shelter, please address your mail to: Attn: Art 4 Shelter Simpson Housing Services 160 Glenwood Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55405 |
Extended-Stay Shelter
Location
Simpson is building a modern, dignified shelter and affordable housing facility at 2740 1st Ave., which will open in 2025. Shelter operations have temporarily moved to the former Zion Lutheran Church at 128 W 33rd St. during construction. Visit our Build-Up Campaign page to learn more.
Shelter Guests
Over 40 years ago, Simpson began as an emergency overnight shelter in the basement of Simpson United Methodist Church. Today, we provide an extended-stay shelter and critical resources for 66 guests (men, women, and non-binary people) 24 hours a day, 365 days per year.
Guests are diverse in background, employment status, and physical abilities. Guests also have a variety of experiences with domestic violence, mental illness, or chemical dependency. We welcome each guest with dignity and respect, recognize each person’s personal strengths and barriers, and offer a safe space where guests can explore stable housing options and resources.
What Happens at Simpson’s Shelter?
As a smaller capacity facility, Simpson’s extended-stay shelter offers unique opportunities for staff and guests to create trusting relationships. We are honored to walk alongside each person to navigate challenging barriers and find safe and stable housing. Through our person-centered work, we build meaningful relationships with each shelter guest and create a unique sense of community.
The shelter staff meet with guests to resolve housing barriers and connect guests to resources that support ongoing stability, including housing assistance, veterans’ services, and health-related services, along with access to three daily meals, showers, laundry, toiletries, mail, and a savings program. Advocates listen to and meet guests where they are, supporting guests in achieving their individualized goals of housing stability and improved well-being.
Volunteer groups serve healthy, filling meals for lunch and dinner. Shelter guests have the chance to visit with staff, volunteers, and other guests, or just unwind by playing board games or watching TV. While shelter guests do not currently have the home they deserve, Simpson staff try to create a sense of home, safety, and welcome.
Single Adults
Simpson provides support to single men and women who have experienced homelessness through several programs: The Women’s Housing Partnership and Opportunity Housing Partnership. Intensive support and advocacy services are a key component of participant success.
- The Women’s Housing Partnership is a supportive housing program for women who face long-term homelessness. Staff work intensively with program participants to forge ongoing relationships that foster individual strength, housing stability, and progress toward personal goals.
- Opportunity Housing Partnership is a collaboration between Simpson, Aeon, and Avivo to provide increased supportive services in two housing communities in downtown Minneapolis. The properties offer efficiency apartments for long-term homeless individuals. Residents are connected to ongoing case management and opportunities for community engagement.
Family & Youth Housing
Simpson’s Family and Housing Programs are our largest programs. Simpson serves families who are experiencing homelessness by providing intensive case management and subsidized rental housing. Emphasis is placed on helping families quickly secure stable housing. Individualized services are focused on life skills, positive parenting, education, and employment. These services all seek to help families achieve long-term housing stability and success.
What happens in Simpson’s Family & Youth Housing Program?
A Family Support Specialist is paired with each family in our housing program. Focused on relationship-building, the Family Support Specialist creates a safe space for participants. “Our advocates really take the time to get to know the parents and the family. They take time to be with the person, to carry some of the weight, and build trust. Through the work they discover, ‘I bet this would be possible’, uncovering the hope in everyone,” says Janelle Leppa, Director of Family and Youth Programs.
Simpson advocates help participants achieve actionable goals they set for themselves. “Simpson is committed to building purposeful relationships. These are families — people — with real lives. We need to connect with a purpose, articulate goals, and ask questions: Are we on the same page? How do we need to move forward? Are the goals we are going for the most important? … We need to be respectful of the family’s time, set goals, and measure progress, so the family can say this is a good use of time and feel a sense of accomplishment.”
Simpson advocates support participants in this journey and celebrate with them along the way. “When something is accomplished, it is always them [the participants]. Getting to be a part of their story is incredibly special.”
Children and Youth Services
Simpson’s dual focus on family support and children’s programming is unique among organizations providing services to families experiencing homelessness. Dedicated advocates help connect parents to our Children and Youth Services Programs to provide specific support to children, including:
- Early Childhood Home Visiting Program: Provides support for families with children ages 0-5
- Passage Literacy Tutoring Program: Provides education support and literacy tutoring to children grades K–6th grade
- Middle School Mentoring: Matches mentors with 5–8th grade students to explore the students’ areas of interest in academics, career, or enrichment opportunities and help youth build skills such as leadership and self-efficacy.
To learn more about Children and Youth Services, click here.
Youth Housing Program
Simpson provides comprehensive supportive housing to youth in two programs:
Youth Parent Program: Simpson provides permanent supportive housing to parenting youth, ages 18-24, who have experienced homelessness through the Young Parent Program. Participants have young children, ages 0-5, and live in both site-based and scattered-site housing in Hennepin County. Support services focus on goal setting around education and employment, as well as early childhood home visiting with an emphasis on child development and positive parenting skills.
66 West: Simpson provides support services to 39 youth transitioning out of homelessness, ages 16-24, at 66 West. Services focus on setting and working toward personal goals in education, employment, and wellness. This site is a housing development in Edina owned by Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative.
Read more about the services we provide at 66 West here.