Open Homes

A fiddle leaf fig in a woven basket sits by a large arched window with white curtains in a cozy living room, featuring a gray sofa and wooden floor.
Open Homes

Creating Stability Together

Are you sleeping on someone else’s couch or in their basement?

Do you have a young person sleeping on your couch or in your basement?

Open Doors for Youth provides support, resources, and guidance to help make the arrangement work for everyone involved. 

How We Help

How We Can Help

Support & Guidance

Open Doors provides support, offering guidance and problem-solving for hosts alongside case management, goal setting, a listening ear and connection to community resources for youth.

Setting Expectations

We'll help communicate about boundaries, responsibilities, and shared expectations.

Financial Support

Moderate financial assistance may be available to help with the added costs of welcoming another person into the household.

Connect With Us

Stories From Open Homes

“I think ‘housing’ - that’s a bed to sleep in, and for some, yes, that’s the bare minimum of what we can do. But to me, a home is a place where you are loved and where you’ve got guidance and where you’ve got rules and where there are consequences and where you learn things and where you laugh…”

- Beverly* on hosting her daughter’s best friend

“How do I set these boundaries that ‘If you’re not in treatment, you’re not going to be able to stay with me forever?’ I don’t know how to have that conversation with him. So support around that would be good…for both of our sides.”

- Denice* on hosting her best friend’s son

*All quotes are actual quotes from Minnesota adults who were providing a home to a young person in need. Names have been changed. The interviews were conducted by CloseKnit as part of The Interview Project, an academic study conducted under the auspices of the University of St. Thomas School of Social Work.

Who Can Participate

Open Homes is available to:

  • Young people ages 16-24
  • Adults they are currently staying with
  • Households in Elk River and surrounding communities, including Becker, Big Lake, Otsego, Monticello, Princeton, St. Michael/Albertville, Rogers, and Zimmerman

Open Homes arrangements must provide a space where the young person is physically, emotionally, and sexually safe.

Connect With Us

You don't need to have all the answers to be a supportive adult in a young person's life. Open Doors for Youth can help you navigate the challenges, find resources, and create an arrangement that works for everyone.

Contact Cindy Ley to learn more about Open Homes by emailing cindyl@opendoorsforyouth.org or calling 763-441-1473.

Connect With Us