Blog

“Rachel” is a pseudonym used to protect this resident’s privacy. When Rachel came to Stepping Stone Emergency Housing on November 18, 2025, she was facing a future she had not expected. After nearly 28½ years in the same home, she was suddenly forced to leave and spent almost three weeks in an extended-stay hotel [...]

How Stepping Stone Emergency Housing partners with landlords to house people who need a second chance. If you own rental property in Anoka, Washington or Sherburne County, you've probably turned down an applicant because of a past eviction, poor credit, or a gap in rental history. It's a practical decision, but it also means [...]

Every semester, Stepping Stone Emergency Housing welcomes interns from local colleges and universities — students studying social work, human services, and related fields who come to learn. What they leave with is often something they didn't expect. This spring, we asked three of our interns to reflect on their experience. Their answers tell a [...]

There’s a lot of conversation right now about what works to address homelessness. You’ll hear people point to approaches like Housing First, and there’s truth in that. Housing matters. It’s essential. But what we’re seeing, especially in suburban communities, is that the story doesn’t usually begin there. At Stepping Stone Emergency Housing, most of [...]

At Stepping Stone, much of what happens each day isn’t dramatic—but it matters. Stability creates the space for something to begin to change. When someone has a consistent place to stay, something shifts.Routines begin to form. Conversations come easier. These are small changes—but they are the ones that lead to real progress. [...]

Tracy Pierce’s history with Stepping Stone didn’t begin in housing case management. It began in development. From 2016 to 2019, Tracy served as Stepping Stone’s Development Officer, helping build relationships with donors and share the stories of residents working toward stability. During that time, she got to know the organization from the inside — [...]

When Amanda first offered to cut hair at Stepping Stone Emergency Housing, it seemed like a simple idea. A chair. A cape. A pair of clippers. But what she brings each time she sets up her station is far more than a haircut. For many residents, a fresh haircut marks something deeper. It signals [...]

When Jaquan Denwiddie talks about growth, he does not speak in abstractions. He speaks from experience. Jaquan is the Long Term Housing (LTH) House Manager at Stepping Stone Emergency Housing, and his journey into this role is deeply connected to his own path of becoming more stable, more confident, and more grounded in who [...]