Mission of Simpson Housing
To provide shelter and affordable housing with support services
to homeless men, women and children, to assist individuals and families
in their effort to improve their life situations and to advocate
for their human and civil rights.
Executive Director Julie Manworren discusses the mission
of Simpson Housing
Simpson values
We celebrate and embrace the uniqueness and dignity of every person.
We encourage people to draw upon their strengths and promote the power of self-advocacy.
We believe that everybody has the right to safe and affordable housing.
We advocate against the injustices of society that cause homelessness and poverty.
We strive to create a collaborative community with the individuals we serve, within Simpson, and also with the greater community.
History During the
especially harsh winter of 1981, Simpson United Methodist Church, located at 1st Avenue South and 28th Street in Minneapolis, began
the first Simpson program by opening the emergency shelter for single
adults. A year later, the program was expanded to include support
services and transitional housing for adults and single-parent families.
In 1993, Simpson Housing Services incorporated into an independent
nonprofit. Since its inception, Simpson has continually expanded services to meet
the needs of shelter guests and transitional housing residents in
order to help them make the journey from homelessness to self-sufficiency.
In 1999, in response to a lack of shelter beds, Simpson added a 20-bed
women's shelter.
Thanks to a donation by Gary Kirt and Bell
Mortgage, administrative offices are located at the Bell House, a mansion on Pillsbury Avenue in south
Minneapolis.
Program overview
The Simpson Transitional Housing program serves adults with children in scattered site-housing throughout Hennepin County. Families receive assistance in finding housing and support in developing the skills to maintain stability. Every school-age child in the program is assigned an Education Support Advocate to help ensure success in school.
Every night in our men’s and our women’s shelters, Simpson offers a bed, a warm meal, a hot shower, and the dignity of being addressed by name to 60 people experiencing homelessness. In the past 12 months shelter advocates have placed over 100 people into permanent housing.
The Simpson Single Adult Rental Assistance (SARA) Program works with long-term homeless single adults to secure housing. After two years, the highly successful program has placed 100% of the participants have been placed into housing and 84% have maintained it. The newly developed Women’s Housing Partnership is positioned to find housing for guests specifically from our women’s shelter. Is the first program specifically of its kind in the U.S.
