
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.
- All clients and participants can get financial help to pay rent or mortgage with the Direct Housing Assistance program at Wilder.
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:
- Assistance obtaining and maintaining safe, affordable housing in the 7-county Twin Cities metro area (Ramsey, Hennepin, Anoka, Scott, Carver, Washington, Dakota)
- Employment readiness training
- Educational support
- Financial coaching
- Health care, including domestic violence services
- Mental and chemical health services
- Childcare and preschool
- Aging and caregiving services
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

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 »


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 »
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
Read the report »Achieving Stability Through Housing: Perspectives from Clients and Staff On the Housing Trust Fund Program
Read the report »Low-Demand Supportive Housing Programs: Who Uses Them and With What Results
Read the report »
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About the Social Innovation Fund
The Social Innovation Fund (SIF) was a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service that received funding from 2010 to 2016. Using public and private resources to find and grow community-based nonprofits with evidence of results, SIF intermediaries received funding to award subgrants that focus on overcoming challenges in economic opportunity, healthy futures, and youth development. Although CNCS made its last SIF intermediary awards in fiscal year 2016, SIF intermediaries will continue to administer their subgrant programs until their federal funding is exhausted.