Five years ago, Natasha Lige and her four daughters were sleeping on the floor of her sister’s home and reeling from the loss of the girls’ dad. As a single mom of four daughters struggling with grief and housing instability, Natasha needed stability and support. That’s when Natasha got connected with Stable Homes Stable Schools (SHSS) through Bryn Mawr elementary school and things started to turn around for her family.

“We were doubled up living with my sister. We were sleeping on the hardwood floor,” said Natasha Lige, a participant of MPHA’s Stable Homes Stable Schools. “Between the grief [of losing their father] and our housing situation, it was really tough on my girls.”

Raising four girls—ages 17, 11, 10 and six—all dealing with the challenges of grief, dealing with housing insecurity was one thing the SHSS program could help lift the burden of. The SHSS program addresses homelessness among Minneapolis Public Schools students’ families through different levels of support: emergency short-term assistance, multi-year rental assistance, and case management. Through Minneapolis public elementary school social workers, families facing homelessness are referred to MPHA.

“It completely changed our lives,” said Natasha.

With the help of the SHSS program, Natasha says things have drastically improved among her girls—from their emotional health to school performance. Her oldest daughter is now an honor roll student and graduating this spring.

“Since being housed, I have seen complete improvement in their overall happiness, schoolwork and attendance, and just being able to live without the worry of living in poor conditions,” said Natasha. “Without the housing support from SHSS, I don’t think I would have been able to focus on my kids and their grief like I have been able to in the past few years.”

Today, Natasha and her girls are thriving in their four-bedroom apartment in Near North.

“Now, my kids know home is a safe haven for them,” said Natasha. They actually want to be home. Everyone has their own space, and they love it.”

Since being housed through SHSS, Natasha has gone back to school and now works as a pharmacy technician. She is now pursuing a new certification to further her career in healthcare.

“SHSS completely changed our lives, and I am forever grateful,” said Natasha.

Natasha’s family is one of 2,000 families that SHSS has been able to support since the program started in 2019. Knowing that one in five children in Minneapolis have experienced homelessness or threats of eviction, MPHA, the City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), and the YMCA of the North are working together to solve the housing instability one family at a time. The program currently serves MPS elementary schools, but new funding will pilot early childhood homelessness prevention and expansion into Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) middle schools.