Stable Families Initiative

About the Program

Category: Human Services (Best in Category)

Year: 2016

The Stable Families Initiative was designed to address the growing number of families returning to emergency shelter. At the time the project was designed, about 1,500 families were being sheltered annually in Hennepin County and almost 25% were repeat shelter users. A group of partners came together in 2013 to design strategies to address the needs of these repeat shelter users. The Stable Families Initiative was a result of these discussions and planning. There are three key components to this two-year pilot project, which ran 2014 to 2015: (1) Prevention, (2) Coordinated County Services, and (3) a Young Parents Program. Each component was designed specifically to address the complex and varied needs of families who fall into homelessness again and again. Three primary outcomes have been achieved since the pilot was initiated: 1. Decrease in family shelter use by an average of 50 fewer families each night from 2014-2015, which represents an 18% decrease overall. 2. Decrease in repeat family shelter use by 33 percent since 2014. 3. Increase in average family income. For families in the prevention component, average income increased 73 percent in the treatment group, as compared to 19 percent in the control group. For the young parent treatment group, income rose 29 percent from program entry as compared to 15 percent in the control group.