How supportive housing impacts parents and children at Cedar View
Written by Dylan Novacek, Content Specialist
“Without stable housing, the priorities in your life are in a different place,” expressed Alyssa Bergstedt, a Family Advocate at Cedar View, family supportive housing from Beacon. “For these families, a stable home means that parents can set and reach their goals. It also means their kids have a place to lay their head at night.”
At Cedar View, young parents ages 18 to 24 receive deeply affordable, supportive housing with onsite services from our partners at Simpson Housing Services. Guided by resident voices, staff work to build holistic services around the families who call this building home. Together, parents and their children find stable ground and receive the resources they need to thrive.
“When you’re a young parent coming from homelessness, foster care, and other backgrounds of instability, you haven’t had the chance to focus on the other aspects of your life,” reflected Tamekia Roberts, Family Advocate. “It’s crucial for our team to be there for these families. Now that they are stably housed, they can breathe and unpack everything. Now they have someone to help them navigate the next steps.”
Tamekia and Alyssa, alongside Cedar View’s Early Childhood Specialist Emily Tahlier, cast a large umbrella of advocacy and resources for the families and their children. With the main goal of keeping residents stably housed, they focus on a wide range of components that positively impact parents and children.
Supporting young parents and their children
“The community here is unique because every family has young children,” Tamekia continued. “Our programming is tailored to parents and implements elements for their children as well. Together, we’re eliminating barriers for all residents.”
“My job is to support the residents in their roles as parents and care givers, while also focusing on child growth and development,” Emily shared. “Whatever a parent needs support with, I step in and try to help.”
Providing the types of support Emily offers is vital for young families exiting instability. According to the Service and Housing Interventions for Families in Transition Final Report, children are often overlooked in service settings with limited resources. Assessment of children’s needs is critical, as is ensuring they have access to education and support. The work Emily does with the parents and their young children helps create an environment where both the parents and their children can succeed.
“My work spans so many areas. Whether it’s helping parents navigate county funding for childcare, making sure the kids are kindergarten ready, driving families to appointments, or helping expecting mothers with prenatal health, I am there for them.”
Experiencing homelessness at such a young age, and then becoming a new parent soon after, comes with so many built-in roadblocks and knowledge barriers. For Emily, she takes pride in ensuring these new parents receive the care they need.
“For me, my favorite part of the job is making sure there is time for families to bond together,” she smiled. “We go to the zoo, local parks, and splashpads. I like to make sure that families have the fun bonding time that might have not been a priority when instability was taking place.
“The most crucial time in your life for brain development is between age zero to five,” Emily continued. “What a stable home does for a child’s brain development sets the foundation for the rest of their life.”
Inspiring success
As Emily works to offer resources which help the young parents of Cedar View best care for their children, Alyssa and Tamekia help the parents set goals and get connected to opportunities for success.
“We meet weekly with our residents and try to focus on what they need that day, as well as keeping their goals top of mind,” Tamekia said. “We’re flexible and let the conversations flow. Sometimes residents just need to vent, and other times we work on getting them connected to the right resources. Frequent topics can be barriers they’re facing, recent accomplishments, and more.”
“We have collaborative and fluid conversations with the residents,” Alyssa added. “We try to have the goal plans reflect what the resident is interested in and striving for. That looks different for each resident because at the end of the day every resident is unique.”
For Alyssa, Tamekia, and Emily, they show up for residents with consistency, transparency, and honesty. As they are led by the needs of each unique family at Cedar View, the service team has witnessed a wide variety of success stories.
“A standout resident shared her hopes to work in construction. We were able to get her connected to a free training program. Now she’s on her way to a job she’s passionate about,” Alyssa cheered. “Another resident made it to graduation after a year of setbacks. These residents have so much grit and ambition in achieving their goals.”
“The services offered in the building are so helpful. I am not alone in parenthood, and have a great team behind me,” exclaimed Hawa, a longtime resident of Cedar View, pictured with her son Hassan. “Every resource, every piece of knowledge, and every story the service team shares with me is so valuable. What I have right now is the support I need and want.”
“Residents can be vulnerable with us as we help them with things like tough paperwork, or going through hard times,” Tamekia remarked. “Residents are more at ease knowing they have an advocate by their side.”
The need for family supportive housing
Minnesota’s housing crisis is felt in every corner of the state. According to the 2018 Minnesota Homeless Study from the Wilder Foundation, nearly half of all homeless individuals in Hennepin County on a single night were from a family experiencing homelessness. Unfortunately, this one-night survey likely provided a conservative estimate, and we know the numbers to have grown since the COVID-19 pandemic.
In suburban Scott and Carver County, Wilder’s one night survey in 2018 found that 38% of all homeless individuals were from families experiencing homelessness.
The lack of affordable units for families means that too many individuals are unable to raise their kids in a healthy and safe environment. This is why Beacon is working towards creating more homes for families such as Prairie Pointe in Shakopee, Gladstone Crossing in Maplewood, and Emerson Village in Minneapolis.
“It’s important for families to have a stable space of their own,” Alyssa urged. “To have a constant and to know that this is your home you can afford is a game changer. No parent should ever have to worry about where their child will lay their head at night. And no parent should have to worry about making the rent.”
Through Alyssa, Tamekia, and Emily’s experience working with the families of Cedar View, they have seen firsthand what homes like this do to help families exiting instability.
“There’s a sense of community around being a parent,” Alyssa reflected. “Even just yesterday at a building meeting, all the kids played together on the playground (pictured) while all the parents shared advice with each other. Everyone here supports one another.”
“Cedar View, and homes like it, are a place where families can find stability and break cycles of generational poverty,” Emily exclaimed. “Together we’re connecting residents to resources and helping their families grow a more stable life.”
Together we support families in their homes. Get involved and learn the ways you can help ensure all people have a home.
