Joshua Kortgard is not your average 14 year old boy. Sure, he likes playing tennis, video games, but he also spends his time collecting toiletries to donate to Simpson’s Shelter.
It all started a few years ago on a family trip to Chicago. Josh saw people on the streets and started asking questions:
“Where do they sleep?”
“Can they come live with us?”
“How do they brush their teeth?”
“Can we buy them a house?”
His mom,
On March 29th, we joined the community in celebrating 10 years of Heading Home Hennepin. At the celebration one of Simpson’s participants, Brittany, was featured in the video.
Click here to view the video, her story starts at 1.44. Brittany and her two children found housing through a partnership with Simpson and Hennepin County’s Stable Family Initiative.
Join us for an educational and interactive training about affordable housing and homelessness in Minnesota and a deeper look into Simpson’s program. The training will cover the history of homelessness and low-income housing, the range of housing options available today, the cost of homelessness, and an examination of solutions.
When I look back on the past 17 years of working with families and youth experiencing homelessness, I have come to firmly believe two important things that have been proven time and time again through the lives of the hundreds of young people I’ve gotten to know. The first is that children and youth are miraculous in their ability to be resilient in the face of hardships and the second is that relationships are where the magic happens.
This fall, Jonathan was homeless and sleeping in his car. His friend, who had a bed at the Simpson shelter, brought Jonathan to visit. He hadn’t been to the shelter before and wasn’t really interested in staying. There happened to be an extra bed open that night and Jonathan’s friend persuaded him to stay and get a decent night’s sleep.
Saturday, December 24 (Christmas Eve)
Monday, December 26th (day after Christmas)
I met Natasha outside a gas station.
I just happened to stop for a morning paper and there she was, her baby in arms, two bags at her feet. She looked fearful. When I asked if she was alright, she told me she was leaving an abusive relationship and was waiting for a ride.
This Fall, Simpson Housing Services helped open the doors to Adult Shelter Connect, a new collaborative with the five Minneapolis single adult shelter providers. Simpson manages this office at St. Olaf Church and provides assessment and placement for adults seeking shelter in Hennepin County. During the first week hundreds of people came to the office to seek shelter.
The Adult Shelter Connect office was formed by the Single Adult Shelter Collaborative and opened on October 17th, 2016. Participating shelters include Catholic Charities, Our Saviour’s Housing, Salvation Army, Simpson Housing Services, and St. Stephen’s Human Services. The Adult Shelter Connect office is funded by Hennepin County and Simpson Housing Services oversees the day-to-day operations.
