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Homewords, the Beacon blog
Forum on Supportive Housing Recap
Over 70 people from across Scott and Carver Counties, and the broader collaborative came to together on June 26 for the Congregation Forum on Supportive Housing. Held at Cross of Peace Lutheran Church in Shakopee, those gathered came to learn how they can be part of the solution to homelessness and...
2019 Legislative Wrapup
Have you ever wondered if it makes a difference to make phone calls and send postcards to your legislators? Did you come to Convening on that very cold winter night back in January, or show up at the Homeless Day on the Hill in the spring, hoping our leaders would hear the urgent need that calls...
Walking Together
On June 20 in downtown Minneapolis, our collaborative, community and tribal leaders gathered at the Central Public Library for the launch of Bimosedaa. It was an inspiring night of cultural sharing and commitment to creating about 50 new homes in response to the crisis of homelessness among the...
Our Name Is Bethlehem
For the Steering Committee of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in the Twin Cities, the challenge was agreeing on a date. While their Minnetonka campus had hosted with Beacon's shelter program for two decades, the Minneapolis campus was eager to host for the first time. The question was when....
Healing and Home
06/11/2019 - 10:12am
"That first time I held my son, a hole in my heart was filled. I felt like I had family back." Devon lost his family to gun violence when he was a teenager. The trauma and depression is what led him into homelessness. But 15 months ago when Devon Jr. was born, he found his motivation...
Fear and Faith
06/04/2019 - 12:59pm
Why is there resistance to affordable and supportive housing? For Cindy Hillger, the root of resistance is anxiety in the unknown. "Fear is the biggest thing," she says. Cindy, a Deacon at St. Martin's By-the-Lake Episcopal Church in Minnetonka Beach, knows this through...
Working for the Common Good
The members of Olivet Congregational United Church of Christ in St. Paul used to believe housing issues were easy to fix. "At the beginning of our involvement with Project Home and Interfaith Builders (Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity), we assumed that homelessness was a temporary issue...
It was Halloween of 2018 and Melissa thought she was going to die. "I was like a walking zombie." She had just moved into her apartment in St. Paul a few weeks earlier. Melissa was in the throes of grief, mourning the death of her fiancé a few weeks prior after years...
We Are Ready
For the last year, James' life has been on hold. The 52 year-old hard-working single father cares for his two teenage daughters, Ashley and Brittany. James worked full-time at an auto shop, but he had to put his job on hold to care for his eldest daughter when she was diagnosed with cancer...
Supporting the Home
Last month we featured the story of Jessica. During the Vista 44 launch event last month, Jessica shared her story of finding home at Audobon Crossing. The following is the text from her speech. Hello! My name is Jessica Lopez, and I'm so happy to be with you again...
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Why Are People Homeless
BEACON Interfaith Housing Collaborative
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