How will family supportive housing impact students?
Written by Dylan Novacek, Content Specialist.
“You wouldn’t have known just by looking at us, but my family and I experienced housing instability when I was growing up,” Arch said as he paused to reflect. “What we went through is a reminder to me as an educator that there’s no telling what a student might be going through. I strive to be a safe space for my students in the same way that Families Moving Forward was for me.”
When he was just a teenager, Arch and his family experienced homelessness. Losing the stability of home at such a formative age has impacted Arch’s outlook today. Thankful for the support he received through Beacon’s Families Moving Forward shelter program, Arch knows firsthand what the right kind of supports can do for individuals who are experiencing or exiting instability.
Pictured: Arch looking up at the Basilica of Saint Mary, one of the congregations he stayed at while in Families Moving Forward.
“What grounded me most as a shelter guest was meeting the volunteers from the churches. They’d bring their own kids, and we would play video games together. The kindness everyone showed helped normalize what I was going through,” Arch said, looking back on the resources he and his family received at Families Moving Forward. “The support my mom received changed everything for us. She got all sorts of help with finding housing, filling out job applications, and things I couldn’t even see as a kid.”
Feeling heard and supported at such a pivotal moment was not only impactful to Arch’s upbringing, but life changing for his whole family. Now an adult, Arch works as an art educator who strives to ensure all the students he comes across receive the same type of stability and care he received.
“I try to offer my students a lot of supportive resources. There is always a reason why someone in the classroom might be acting out. I’ve seen kids struggle with instability. They are often sluggish. When I’d ask them what’s going on, I’d hear things like they haven’t eaten all day or have been couch hopping from one friend’s home to the next. I give all my students extra grace, and make sure we have snacks in the classroom.”
Without having a stable home, it can be impossible to focus on anything else. For students experiencing instability, this means falling behind in school and missing out on the formative experiences they look forward to growing up. Unfortunately, as our housing crisis worsens, more families throughout the metro stand on the edge of instability. In fact, 550,000 Minnesotans live in households that struggle to pay their rent each month.
Pictured: Cranberry Ridge.
Our housing crisis is evident in suburban communities where the availability of affordable housing struggles to meet the need. For example, in Shakopee we see that 43% of renters are cost burdened. That number is even higher in other parts of the metro as half of all renters in Maplewood are cost burdened as well.
At Beacon, we’re working to address our current housing crisis through bold policies like Bring it Home, Minnesota, and through the creation of more deeply affordable, family supportive housing in the suburbs. Homes like Prairie Pointe in Shakopee, Gladstone Crossing in Maplewood, Vista 44 in Hopkins, and Emerson Village in North Minneapolis will be tailored to meet the needs of our communities.
“Poverty and homelessness exist everywhere,” Arch asserted. “If my family and I were to have moved into supportive housing right away, we would’ve had a much different experience. Instead of having to uproot our lives, our family could’ve remained in the community we loved.”
We know that family supportive housing in the suburbs works. Cranberry Ridge, Beacon’s latest deeply affordable home with onsite services for families, houses 45 families who now have access to one of Minnesota’s top school districts. Looking ahead, we’re working to ensure that homes such as Prairie Pointe in Shakopee and Emerson Village in North Minneapolis become a reality so all families can plant roots in great communities.
Pictured: Arch and other individuals with lived experience providing input on Emerson Village.
As an advocate for family supportive housing, Arch recently had the opportunity to collaborate alongside other individuals who’ve experienced homelessness to give input on the construction and direction of Emerson Village.
“For families exiting homelessness and moving into affordable housing, they need to have case managers and the resources needed to settle,” Arch shared. “The great thing about supportive housing is knowing that you aren’t being thrown right out into the deep end. You will have a program there to help you.”
Arch looks forward to what the creation of Emerson Village, and the other projects in Beacon’s pipeline, will do to change the lives of students across the metro.
“Giving students stability helps them think bigger. No kid thinks about going to college when they are more worried about where their next meal will come from or where they will sleep next. Stable housing gave me the space to think bigger.
“We need to listen to the needs of our communities and the people we’re serving,” Arch continued. “As faith communities, we can all agree that we’re here to help support others. Taking care of people is what we’re supposed to do.”
Will you help us create more deeply affordable, family supportive housing in the suburbs? Click here to learn how you can get involved and help see that all people have a home.
Hear more from Arch in our Light the Way Home video:
