Interfaith Action opens new day center to serve Project Home families
On September 1, 2019, Interfaith Action of Greater Saint Paul opened a new day center to serve the families who are guests in the organization’s Project Home shelters and who had been served during the day by The Family Place, which closed its day center August 31.
“We did not want our families to experience any interruption in the vital support they need to build more stable lives,” said Interfaith Action executive director Randi Roth. “Thanks to First Baptist Church in downtown St. Paul, Interfaith Action will use space in the same place where The Family Place operated, making the transition seamless for our families.”
Interfaith Action’s Project Home engages faith communities to provide emergency shelter space for Ramsey County families facing homelessness. Church social halls, synagogue classrooms, and school cafeterias become home for a short period of time for families, allowing families to stabilize. Each month, two area faith communities host 20 emergency shelter beds each.
With the new Project Home Day Center, Interfaith Action will expand its support to the day-time hours, providing:
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner plus an after-school snack for hungry children
- A central location where children can meet buses to take them to their schools
- Lockers, showers, basic hygiene supplies, and laundry facilities
- Education opportunities to build employment skills
- Programming and support to help families find stable housing and employment
Sara Liegl, who has served as director of Interfaith Action’s Project Home for 18 years, will be director of the day center. Ramsey County is providing funding for the next few months while County leaders develop a long-term strategy for day services.
“We are growing our capacity to more quickly stabilize families,” says Liegl. “With a new rapid exit case worker, who helps our families find permanent housing, plus two master’s degree interns from the University of St. Thomas and St. Catherine University who will be working alongside her, we are helping more families build their economic mobility.”
About Interfaith Action of Greater Saint Paul
Interfaith Action harnesses the power of thousands of motivated volunteers from diverse faith communities to relieve the effects of poverty and address its root causes. Interfaith Action employs an interfaith, multi-racial, intergenerational approach to:
- Increase economic mobility in Greater Saint Paul;
- Activate and educate members of faith communities through transformative volunteer experiences;
- Strengthen faith and spiritual communities with well-supported pathways to engage in effective social justice work.
For more information, visit www.interfaithaction.org/projecthome. To volunteer in the Project Home Day Center or provide needed items, contact msoroka@interfaithaction.org.