Hearth Connection was incorporated in 1999 to implement the Supportive Housing and Managed Care Pilot. Launched by a group of advocates, government stakeholders, and community partners, the Pilot represented a new cross-sector approach to serving people with long histories of homelessness who faced some of the highest barriers to housing, including mental illness, chemical dependency, and chronic health issues. By offering an integrated health care, social services and affordable housing support network, innovative financing, centralized oversight of direct service providers, and an emphasis on collaboration among partners, the Pilot reached across traditional divides to help people experiencing homelessness find stability while reducing the costs associated within a fragmented set of services.
Over two decades, Hearth Connection’s engagement and innovation spurred partnerships and program development across Minnesota. Achievements include the establishment of regional projects, implementation of unique programs focused on specific populations experiencing homelessness, driving initiatives supporting direct service providers’ administrative and funding needs, and advocating for common-sense policies that improved people’s lives.
Our work to equip service providers with the tools they need to pair supportive housing with services focused on people’s unique needs is a proven, permanent solution for breaking the cycle of homelessness. To learn more about Hearth Connection’s model and its impact, review the research here:
