East Metro Accommodations Present Emergency Shelter To Homeless Residents

WASHINGTON COUNTY, MN — Hotels in Woodbury and Stillwater are set to serve as emergency shelters for the next year, with Washington County spending some of its coronavirus relief funds to house residents experiencing homelessness.

The Washington County Board of Commissioners approved a measure Jan. 25 to spend $800,000 of the county’s American Rescue Plan Act funds to secure about 20 total rooms at WoodSpring Suites in Woodbury and Stillwater Inn & Suites.

The county’s contract with WoodSpring Suites is worth $275,000, while the contract with Stillwater Inn & Suites is worth $325,000. Both contracts run from Feb. 1 to Jan. 31, 2023.

The remaining $200,000 in spending approved by the board will be used to provide residents at the shelters with support services and meals, according to Jennifer Castillo, director of community services for Washington County.

The county previously offered emergency shelter in Forest Lake, but officials contracted with WoodSpring Suites because it’s in a more-central location and there is a greater need in Woodbury, Castillo said.

Stillwater Inn & Suites has provided rooms for emergency shelter since June 2021.

Giving shelter to residents who are experiencing homeless is a top priority for Washington County officials, as housing “is the basic building block for any sort of stability,” Castillo said.

“If someone doesn’t have a roof over their head and a place to sleep, how can we expect them to have any of their other needs in place,” like food, medication and health services, Castillo said.

Washington County opened an emergency shelter in April 2020 after shelters run by community providers shut down at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Castillo said. Since then, the county has provided emergency housing to about 200 people, including families and single adults, she said.

The shelters in Woodbury and Stillwater will focus on housing single adults, while social workers will help place families in more appropriate shelters in the region, Castillo said.

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Washington County works with a network of shelters, providers and officials throughout the Twin Cities metro to coordinate housing and services for those in need, she said.

Washington County’s shelters are operating at capacity, with about two dozen people being housed in 20 rooms, Castillo told Patch on Wednesday. And the need for emergency shelter could rise with the end of a major rental-assistance program for Minnesotans.

RentHelpMN, a state-run program that uses federal coronavirus-relief funds to help residents cover overdue rent, stopped accepting applications for assistance Friday night.

Minnesota Housing Finance Agency Commissioner Jennifer Ho said the program’s closure will hurt “many households” struggling to make rent payments amid the coronavirus pandemic, and Castillo said Washington County officials are “planning for some sort of spike” in need for housing.

Though RentHelpMN is ending, Castillo said there are still many resources and programs for residents facing housing issues.

Those resources include Washington County’s Homeless Outreach Services Team, a group of social workers who connect residents experiencing homelessness to services and other resources to meet their basic needs.

The HOST team can be reached at 651-430-6488.

Washington County residents may still apply for help through the county’s Emergency Rental Assistance program, which will continue despite the end of the state-run program.

This article originally appeared on the Woodbury Patch