"Families for Finance," A Financial Empowerment Program for Shelter Guests: An Evaluation of Program Design and Pilot Program Execution

Between 1993 and 2022 Hennepin County shelter policy included some form of a “pay-to-stay” provision requiring shelter guests to forfeit all or most of their income to remain in shelter. Following a growing call to reform this policy, a coalition formed in 2020 between the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA), shelter leaders at People Serving People, Research in Action (RIA), Hennepin County leaders, and the Pohlad Foundation to explore an alternative to the self-pay model. 

Employing participatory action research strategies, this collaborative engaged current and former shelter guests to develop an innovative financial empowerment program that eliminated pay-to-stay obligations, provided savings opportunities, and administered financial empowerment classes.

Between November 2021 and April 2022, People Serving People launched this pilot program, Families for Finance (FFF). CURA served as the evaluation partner examining both program development and program implementation. In 2022, Hennepin County eliminated the self-pay policy, citing in part an earlier CURA report highlighting the impact of self-pay on individuals facing housing instability. Eliminating self-pay was a victory for families and advocates alike, but impacted enrollment in the voluntary pilot as the FFF Program was an attractive  alternative to self-pay.

Despite this challenge and the immense impact of COVID-19, this report provides an account of the innovations that can occur when a program is developed by and for shelter guests, opportunities to continue to improve the FFF program going forward, and recommendations to the field for future community-driven initiatives.