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Hennepin County, Minnesota

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Emergency programs

When Hennepin County residents are in a financial crisis that poses a direct threat to their physical health or safety, the county may be able to help by providing short-term aid.

Services may include:

  • Emergency temporary shelter
  • Housing costs like rent payments, damage deposits, home repairs and utility bills
  • Foreclosure prevention, moving expenses and transportation to relocate
  • Extra food support for people on special diets
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Shelter is meant as a temporary, safe place to stay while you are figuring out your next step.

Youth

There are several youth shelters available throughout Hennepin County. Each have their own eligibility and intake process. For information, visit the Youth Services Network.

Adults without children

There’s now a single point of entry for assessment and placement at a shelter. Visit Adult Shelter Connect

Families

Families living in Hennepin County may be able to access emergency shelter — a temporary, safe place to stay while figuring out next steps towards stable housing.

Connect to a family shelter expert

Call 612-348-9410

Phone hours:

  • Monday through Friday: 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.
  • Weekends and holidays: 1 – 11 p.m.
  • After hours: Call 211 (mobile: 651-291-0211) and ask for the after-hours shelter team

Families can expect to:

  • Work with a family shelter expert to identify a shelter
  • Be asked to help pay for their shelter stay

Once in shelter:

  • Families will be referred to Coordinated Entry for possible affordable housing
  • Staff will work with families to identify other services needed such as food or health care

Hennepin County doesn't operate shelters, but works with shelter providers to connect families to this critical short-term support to stay safe.

We know shelter is just the first step. Once safely in shelter, families will work with the county and other service providers to help find stable housing and other resources to support their well-being.

More about contracted Hennepin County shelter providers

If you’re fleeing domestic violence

Call Day One at 1-866-223-1111

Day One connects you to the closest available domestic violence shelter near you, and all available domestic violence shelters in the state.

To apply for assistance, fill out an online application or print the combined application form and mail it back to the address below. You may also call 612-596-1300 to have a form mailed to you.

If you need assistance with completing an application, call 612-596-1300 Monday through Friday between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Please be aware that your benefits will not start until your paperwork is received and processed. A phone interview is required.

You may be able to get similar help from another homeless prevention program if you have used emergency short-term help from the county in the last 12 months or applied for emergency short-term help from the county, but were denied.

To get help from these programs, you must meet all three of these criteria:

  1. Live in Hennepin County in a home you rent or own, in someone else’s home for at least three months or in permanent supportive housing
  2. Will lose your home and have no other housing options within 30 days
  3. Have extremely low income (for example, less than $1,653 per month for a single person or less than $2,358 per month for a family of four)

Eligibility for these programs is determined by your residential address. Before you visit one of these organizations in person, call ahead to get information on when you can apply and whether funds are still available for the month.

Single adults

Families and single adults

Youth (under 24) and young families

American Indian families

  • Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center
    612-728-2026

North Minneapolis residents


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