Connecting Residents to Community and Resources: Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners
Service Provider Spotlight. Written by Dylan Novacek, Content Specialist.
“We’re a safety net for the community,” exclaimed Wendy Geving, the Program Director at Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners. “We provide assistance when individuals are in crisis and have immediate, unmet needs and support them to move toward greater overall stability…We’re doing that in a way that puts our client community at the center of all we do.”
Interfaith Outreach is mission focused to strengthen our community by meeting basics needs and equipping individuals and families for ongoing stability. With over 40-years of experience in serving the Twin Cities western suburbs, the organization has a rich background of services which included food shelf, emergency financial assistance, employment services, childcare assistance and kindergarten-readiness services, housing based services and more.
As our onsite service provider at Cranberry Ridge, opening this spring, they are set to bring their unique services to 45-families.
“Our team is assembled and are eager to help these 45-families step into their new homes,” Wendy smiled. “Both our organizations know nothing can be built without home as a foundation.”
Strengthened by our shared value of home, Beacon and Interfaith Outreach have been working for a decade to see these homes become a reality. With construction running ahead of schedule, families will be moving in soon. Interfaith Outreach will be providing residents with both onsite case management and their unique Neighborhood Program.
(Pictured: the exterior of Cranberry Ridge as of January 2022.)
“Cranberry Ridge will have a mix of onsite services, relationship-based case management, youth programming, and community building,” Wendy shared. “We believe having services onsite is critical; that said, our approach will include on-site services, access to the range of services provided by Interfaith Outreach and a focus on access to all of the resources and opportunities in the surrounding community.
“Our permanent supportive housing case management team will work onsite with a subset of residents who have experienced homelessness, and/or have a household member with a disability,” she continued. “Additionally, our Neighborhood Program will serve the entire community; working with residents to create a strong community and developing programs that fit their interests, needs and strengths. Programming responds to the unique needs of the community when it is community led. That will be our approach.”
(Pictured: The construction of the interior at Cranberry Ridge.)
With two areas of focus – one that focuses on the individual and the other on the entire building – Interfaith Outreach will provide all residents at Cranberry Ridge with the resources they need. Through their Neighborhood Program, residents are met with a unique opportunity to ensure that services in the building are relevant to their needs. This could look like youth groups, English as a Learned Language classes, connections to local services, and more. Their person-centered approach and community connections will reach all residents.
Beacon is proud to collaborate with an organization whose values align so closely to our own. Interfaith Outreach believes in inclusivity, integrity, and – of course – collaboration. Our partnership began through our interfaith roots. We were connected by collaborating congregation Wayzata Community Church. Reflecting on our journey together, we’re elated to see Cranberry Ridge hit completion.
“It’s been a long journey, but a successful one we’re thrilled to be part of,” Wendy said, looking back on our partnership. “We’re grateful to have a partner who was dedicated to making this possible, even if it took ten years.
“I remember being at the Plymouth City Council meetings for Cranberry Ridge. One was standing room only,” she continued. “People showed up because they knew the importance of home. Beacon has brought such incredible expertise to the table and made this project come to life with tremendous persistency.”
It takes great collaboration, and often years of resiliency, to make home a reality. Currently, Beacon is celebrating joyful wins while also navigating through the systemic obstacles that prevent the creation of more deeply affordable homes for families. With partners like Interfaith Outreach, and individuals making gifts and showing up for home, we get closer to our vision that all people have a home.
“We provide a continuum of services focused on housing, but the real answer is simply more affordable housing units,” Wendy paused. “We are working with families today who are experiencing homelessness and housing instability. The community needs this, and we are grateful to be part of it.”
Wendy is inspired by the idea of Interfaith Outreach being a safety net. Seeing the community come together and decide that no family will fall below that net is energizing and inspiring. Through our partnership, Beacon and Interfaith Outreach will help ensure that the families at Cranberry Ridge will remain on stable ground.
“Right now, families may struggle to use their gifts in the community because they are so focused on making this month’s rent. At Cranberry Ridge, we can provide them with the foundation and stability to have their gifts blossom for the whole community.”
It takes $15,000 per home in Seeds funding before shovels hit the ground to create homes like Cranberry Ridge. This essential funding supports our service partnership staff as they build and sustain relationships with organizations like Interfaith Outreach. Click here to make a gift to help support these relationships.
