On Friday, MPHA leaders joined Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) Superintendent Dr. Lisa Sayles-Adams, Hennepin County, YMCA of the North, and MPS families at Nellie Stone Johnson Elementary School to tout the ongoing success of Stable Homes Stable Schools (SHSS), along with highlighting the additional $1.4 million in ongoing funding for SHSS in Mayor Frey’s proposed FY26 budget. This proposed funding brings the city’s annual funding from $2.2 million to $3.6 million, helping close a funding gap the program has incurred since its expansion in 2023.
In recent years, the SHSS funding shortfall has been covered by one-time city funds previously allocated to support SHSS when it was a pilot. With the one-time pilot funding reserves nearly depleted, MPHA leaders approached Mayor Frey earlier this summer to request an ongoing funding increase to the program to ensure it could continue to operate at its current capacity.
“Stable Homes Stable Schools is a crown jewel among MPHA programs,” said Abdi Warsame, Executive Director/CEO of the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority. “It epitomizes what is possible through the power of partnership, and I thank Mayor Frey for his continued leadership in supporting Stable Homes Stable Schools. We hope to continue the critical work of ending student homelessness in Minneapolis with this new funding.”
Stable Homes Stable Schools is a pioneering partnership between MPHA, the City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, and Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), along with the YMCA of the North as the service partner, working to reduce homelessness among families with elementary-aged kids in Minneapolis. The program is a holistic approach to addressing homelessness through prevention (emergency short- and medium-term assistance) and intervention (multi-year rental assistance and support services).
Since 2019, SHSS has supported more than 2,400 families*, representing over 6,700 children.* That includes more than 360* students from Friday’s event host school, Nellie Stone Johnson Elementary. Additionally, SHSS has served as a model for similar programs around the country.
The program’s emergency short- and medium-term assistance is offered at all 43 MPS elementary schools, while multi-year rental assistance and support services is available at 24 schools.
More than 2,100* families have received emergency short- or medium-term assistance through SHSS’ housing stabilization program. Housing stabilization helps families avoid homelessness with emergency assistance which could include back pay of rent, helping pay for fixing a car needed to get to work, or other forms of assistance to keep families in their current housing. This tool is key to preventing homelessness before it happens and has helped more than 5,700* children avoid homelessness since SHSS’ inception.
The second tier of support is SHSS’ housing placement and support program. This multi-year rental assistance and wraparound services have helped more than 300* families escape or avoid homelessness and assisted them in securing stable, long-term affordable housing. This tool is key to ensuring families remain in stable housing and has helped nearly 1,000* children remain housed and engaged in their education since SHSS’ inception.
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SHSS is a referral-based program. Anyone interested in learning more about participating in SHSS should contact their MPS social workers to determine eligibility.
*As of September 30, 2025
