In September 2012, the parish house became overnight transitional housing for homeless families. These families are from our Washington County area, as well as suburban Ramsey County.
Since March, 2011, St Andrews Lutheran Church in Mahtomedi has served families from Washington and suburban Ramsey counties who are experiencing homelessness. Spending their days at the church’s Community Resource Center seeking jobs and permanent housing, the families have been put up in a motel from after school hours until the last buses take the children off to school the following morning. At intake, the families are screened by professionals including a background check for domestic abuse or other criminal history.
The vacant parish rectory at Guardian Angels has supplemented the motel as the late afternoon and overnight shelter. The shelter opened on Labor Day of 2012 and has seen significant use ever since, with an average occupancy rate of over 70%. The shelter has bedrooms for up to seven families plus the overnight volunteers. It is staffed by volunteers from the area churches using the Project Home model.