Brooklyn Center and Osseo, MN – The YMCA of the North, a leading nonprofit dedicated to youth development, healthy living and social responsibility, with Hennepin County, Brooklyn Center Community Schools and Osseo Area Schools offers Homework Starts with Home Northwest, a new program providing resources and supportive services to families experiencing housing instability.
This new student homeless prevention program for Northwest Hennepin suburbs will work over three years with 250 families experiencing housing instability whose children attend school in Brooklyn Center Community Schools or Osseo Area Schools. The community partners saw a significant need for homelessness prevention with the increases in eviction filings, households severely cost burdened, and doubled up and couch hopping families.
YMCA Youth and Family Services provides goal-oriented case management and supportive services to prevent homelessness, identify and address barriers to stable housing, and promote long-term stability. Services include financial and monthly budgeting assistance, food support, employment help, connection to community resources and more.
“The Y and community partners are committed to prevent student and family homelessness by mitigating the factors leading to housing instability and promote long‐term housing stability,” said Bri Warren, program director of homeless services at the YMCA of the North. “Every student should have the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive safely at school and home.”
“Homework Starts with Home has been a wonderful program that specifically targets school-aged children and their families who are facing housing instability,” said Loni Aadalen, principal planning analyst at Hennepin County. “The number of families that have been able to receive supportive services and emergency rent assistance because of this collaborative has been invaluable in preventing homelessness. Hennepin County believes housing is a human right and ensuring families can remain in housing is one of the main priorities of the Housing Stability Service Area.”
"Homework Starts with Home Northwest has been an extremely beneficial resource for Brooklyn Center families facing eviction,” said Deirdra Yarbro, director of special services at Brooklyn Center Community Schools. “The collaboration between the YMCA, Brooklyn Center Community Schools and Osseo Area Schools is a wonderful example of the larger community coming together to support one another."
“Part of Osseo Area School's strategic plan is to address, acknowledge and reduce systemic disparities, barriers and inequities as we lead, develop and align our district toward continuous improvement,” said Kendra Kuhlmann, housing stability social worker at Osseo Area Schools. “Homework Starts with Home offers resources for families facing housing instability and for students to feel supported, safe, and successful in school. Osseo Area Schools is committed to the collaboration with Hennepin County, the YMCA and community partners in the ongoing implementation of Homework Starts with Home to better serve our families and students.”
For more information, families should contact their school district to determine if they are eligible. Brooklyn Center Schools at HSWH@BCCS286.org and Osseo Area Schools at HSWH@district279.org.
About the YMCA of the North
The YMCA of the North is a leading nonprofit dedicated to strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. Established 167 years ago, the Ys provide life-strengthening services across the greater Twin Cities metro region, southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin communities. The 29 Y locations and program sites, eight overnight camps, 10 day camps, and more than 90 child care sites engage more than 370,000 men, women and children of all ages, incomes and backgrounds. To learn more about the Y’s mission and work, visit www.ymcanorth.org.
About Hennepin County
The goal of Hennepin County is to make homelessness rare, brief and nonrecurring. Hennepin County holds two core beliefs about homelessness:
- Homelessness is unacceptable – Nobody should be without the safety, security and dignity of a home.
- We have solutions to homelessness – Our committed and collaborative efforts have shown we are capable of mobilizing resources to help keep people in their homes or help them find and sustain new homes.
About Brooklyn Center Community Schools
Brooklyn Center Community Schools (BCCS) serves approximately 2,300 students and families in Brooklyn Center and surrounding communities. As a full-service community schools district with over 100 community partners, BCCS serves the whole child by working to eliminate barriers to learning so that each child can freely pursue their potential. BCCS stands front and center with the young people they love and serve and strive to become a justice-centered school community who fuels the unique genius of each student. Learn more about BCCS at www.bccs286.org.
About Osseo Area Schools
The mission of Osseo Area Schools is to inspire and prepare each and every scholar with the confidence, courage and competence to achieve their dreams; contribute to community; and engage in a lifetime of learning. With just over 20,000 students, Osseo Area Schools is Minnesota’s fifth-largest district. It services eight communities, including Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Corcoran, Dayton, Maple Grove, Osseo, Plymouth and Rogers.