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Wilder Foundation
Wilder Supportive Housing Services provide participants with flexible and responsive services alongside affordable housing.

Supportive Housing Services

Supporting young adults and families from homelessness to housing and stability

Wilder helps young adults and families experiencing homelessness in our community achieve independence and stability with Supportive Housing Services using a housing first model.

Here's how Wilder's Supportive Housing Services work: Once approved and referred from the county to a Wilder Housing Program, our diverse and experienced housing specialists, case managers, and housing coordinators staff work closely with individuals and families to find safe and affordable housing in Minnesota's Twin Cities metro. By partnering with counties, agencies and landlords in our community, Wilder also supports participants in our programs achieve self-determined goals of employment, education, finance and health and access to other Wilder programs and services for children, adults and families using a person-centered approach.

Seeking emergency shelter or housing in Minnesota? Call 2-1-1 (United Way) right away!

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If you are homeless, at risk of becoming homeless, or need emergency assistance to stay in your home in Minnesota, call 2-1-1 (United Way) or 651-291-0211 for eligibility and pre-screening.

Please note: Access to Wilder Supportive Housing Services is available only through the Ramsey County Coordinated Access to Housing and Shelter (CAHS) System. By calling 2-1-1, you will be connected to resources that are designed for your housing needs.

Housing Services that Support Young Adults & Families

Wilder’s Supportive Housing Services are designed to meet families and young adults wherever they are in their lives. We use a Housing First model to move families and youth into housing quickly, with the goal of creating stable housing in order to address the other destabilizing factors that led to homelessness in the first place. Our goals are to stabilize families and to increase their income so they can transition to housing they can afford in the long term.

Supportive housing services are available to Wilder's housing program participants and include:

Where We Provide Supportive Housing Services

Wilder provides supportive housing services to nearly 30 percent of eligible homeless families in Ramsey County, according to the 2015 Ramsey County Homeless Study. We provide both short- and long-term services to families and individuals in a variety of locations in Saint Paul and throughout the metro.

We provide services in:

  • Scattered site and site-based permanent supportive housing 
  • Scatter-site rapid re-housing
  • Housing program for families experiencing domestic violence
  • Site-based youth housing and housing for single adults
  • Direct assistance homelessness prevention support

Supportive Housing Works. A 2012 Wilder Research study found that supportive housing programs in Minnesota have a return on investment of $1.44 per dollar invested – and $1.32 per dollar for overall benefits to society.

Articles, Stories and Research on Homelessness & Housing Support

Kimyada participates in Wilder Supportive Housing Services

After Experiencing Homelessness, Mother of Six Finds Hope and a Fresh Start

At 27 years old, Kimyada Robinson parents six children on her own while working full-time as an assistant pre-Kindergarten teacher and a school bus attendant in Saint Paul. In the evenings, she studies online for a bachelor’s degree. More about this story »

More Stories
Black Father and Son in Saint Paul Minnesota

From Homelessness to Housing, Families Achieve Stability through Self-Determination and Community Support

Once a family faces eviction or experiences homelessness in the Twin Cities, how do they eventually find a home? With community support from counties, shelters ... Read the article »
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Preventing Homelessness in Our Community Starts with Trust

I have been working to help families experiencing homelessness stabilize for more than two decades and I’ve heard it all before. The stereotypes, the expla... Read the article »
A close-up of a pair of cupped hands holding a small wooden house.

2018 Homeless Study Initial Findings

Every three years, Wilder Research conducts a one-day statewide study to better understand the prevalence of homelessness in Minnesota, as well as the circumsta... Read the article »

Start by Knowing Why: 5 Reasons People are Homeless in Minnesota

A lack of affordable housing tops the list of reasons people in Minnesota experience homelessness, based on data from the 2015 Minnesota Homeless Study. Read the article »

Wilder Foundation Family Supportive Housing Services: All Programs: A Summary of Evaluation Findings from Fiscal Year 2015-16

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Achieving Stability Through Housing: Perspectives from Clients and Staff On the Housing Trust Fund Program

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Low-Demand Supportive Housing Programs: Who Uses Them and With What Results

Read the report »
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