Stable Homes Stable Schools (SHSS) is a pioneering partnership between MPHA, the City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, and Minneapolis Public Schools (MPs) working to reduce homelessness among families with elementary-aged kids in Minneapolis. The program is a holistic approach to addressing homelessness through emergency short-term assistance, multi-year rental assistance, and case management. A key piece of the program’s success is its Parent Advisory Councils (PAC), where families share their experience and recommend how to improve SHSS. The program has established two PACs, one for English speakers and one for Spanish speakers, to hear directly from participants and their families.
The program’s two PACs are comprised of 18 parents of participating families—like Latara Hammers, Knee’Sha Lungelow, and Natasha Lige—at various stages of receiving rental assistance support through SHSS. Each month, PAC members and program administrators discuss programmatic updates, successes, and challenges. Often there is an educational topic discussed to further equip families with skills and resources for success. Knowing that transportation and childcare could be barriers to participation in the PAC, the program provides stipends, meals, and resources to make it easier for parents to attend.
“The Parent Advisory Councils advise on key components of SHSS programming. That feedback has prompted modifications to the program to better serve its participating families,” said Kasey Nimmerfroh, Program Assistant Manager of Stable Homes Stable Schools at MPHA.
Feedback from the PAC has improved multiple aspects of SHSS programming, including adjustments to the onboarding process for families receiving rental assistance and the level of support offered to families moving into new homes. When families first begin receiving rental assistance and move into a new home, the whirlwind of change can be overwhelming. With firsthand experience of the stress families sometimes feel amidst all the change, the PAC advised that information be communicated repeatedly throughout the process.
When Latara Hammers and her family moved to Minnesota from Arkansas, they spent four years living out of their car and on family members’ couches. About a year and a half ago, Latara’s family got connected to SHSS rental assistance through a case worker at the MPS elementary school her two youngest kids attend. Now, Latara and her family live in a three-bedroom house in North Minneapolis. Latara also has the PAC to thank for her job with AmeriCorps, working to help other families in the school district facing housing insecurity.
“I love the [Stable Homes Stable School] PAC. [Staff] really listen to us. We give them feedback on how our families are doing, how our kids are doing in school, and the struggles we are facing,” said Latara Hammers, a participant of MPHA’s Stable Homes Stable Schools. “I’m happy that [staff] want to hear from us.”
In addition to having a dedicated time to allow participant families to share feedback, Latara noted that the PAC has also created a community of support and accountability among its members. It’s a monthly reminder and encouragement to meet goals and work together on common family and life challenges.
Now in its sixth year, SHSS has helped more than 5,900 children and 2,100 families as of the end of 2024. In the 2023-2024 school year, SHSS rental assistance participants had higher stable enrollment and more enrolled days on average than all other students attending Minneapolis Public Schools. And more recently, the success of the program has drawn the attention of cities and housing authorities across the country as a model program to emulate in addressing local housing and homelessness challenges.
