Frequently Asked Questions
All Stepping Stone Volunteer needs can be met by individuals or groups. Some of the options that are best suited to groups include:
- Kitchen servers
- Donate A Dinner (great for groups of 4-7-only 4 in the kitchen)
- Small Group Activity Leaders
- “Handyman” Help as Team
- Cleaning, Decorating & Sorting as a Team
We ask that children be at least 10 years of age to volunteer. Please plan to have a one-to-one adult-to-child ratio for all volunteers under the age of 18.
We are so grateful that you are interested in volunteering at Stepping Stone and gratefully accept as much or as little time as you can give. We have a variety of opportunities for short term, long term, or occasional volunteers. We’ve found that volunteers get the most out of their experience when they volunteer at least once per month, but that is entirely up to each volunteer. Most volunteer shifts range from 1 hour (food pick up) to 4 hours (front office assistant).
It depends on what kind of volunteer work you choose. For example, we want to make it easy to Donate A Dinner, so Level 1 Volunteers don’t require any specific training. On the other hand, Level 4 Volunteers work one-on-one with residents, so they are required to attend training and orientation. Our goal is for you to have a successful and rewarding experience supporting Stepping Stone and our residents, so training requirements are specific to each volunteer role.
It’s easy! APPLY ONLINE or contact Jeff Conner at 763-370-5744 or volunteer@steppingstoneeh.org.
Stepping Stone may choose to conduct a background check and fingerprint volunteers. For the safety of our residents, volunteers who have direct interactions with residents can expect a background check and to be fingerprinted by a professional organization. Volunteers who have limited interactions with residents may or may not have a background check or be fingerprinted at Stepping Stone’s discretion.
- You must be at least 18 years old in order to stay at Stepping Stone
- For assistance with youth shelter, please contact YMCA Youth Intervention Services (https://www.streetworksmn.org/) at 763-493-3052 or Hope4Youth (https://www.hope4youthmn.org/) at 763-323-2066.
- If you are a family who needs shelter, please contact Family Promise of Anoka County (http://www.familypromiseanoka.org/) at 763-568-7365 or Safe Families for Children (www.Minneapolis-StPaul.Safe-Families.org) at 651-792-2777.
Call us at 763-323-7006 as soon as you know you need shelter. We are always at capacity and have a waitlist. Please review our requirements listed above to make sure you are eligible to stay at Stepping Stone. In order to be put on the waitlist, we need your full legal name and birthdate, as well as a reliable way to contact you.
Time on the waitlist generally varies from one day to potentially two months. Your place on the waitlist can change due to the following circumstances:
- Current residents need to stay longer than expected.
- Young adults (ages 18-24) and veterans receive priority on the waitlist.
- More individuals referred for emergency shelter by the police, hospital, and Hope4Youth.
When you are added to the waitlist, make sure that you give our staff a very reliable phone number that we can use to reach you. If this number changes, please call us right away. If you don’t have a reliable phone number, you may call Stepping Stone daily to track your place on the waitlist.
Our waitlist typically ranges around 150-250 people.
You may contact our Intake Coordinator anytime at 763-277-8308 to confirm your waitlist placement. Please know that your placement can change daily. It depends on how many young adults (ages 18-24) and veterans need shelter (they go to the top of the list), the number of one-night bed referrals we receive from the police, hospitals, and Hope4Youth, and how easily we are able to contact those ahead of you on the list.
The important thing is that we have a really good phone number we can use to contact you. If that number changes at any time while you are on the waitlist, please call 763-277-8308.
Once a resident has completed our 90-day program, the opportunity for financial assistance to help with rent, down payment, utilities, damage deposit, etc. may be available. That’s something individual residents should discuss with their case manager.
Unfortunately, we are not able to provide shelter to any walk-ins. In order to stay at Stepping Stone, you must call 763-323-7006 and get added to our waitlist.
Stepping Stone is designed to provide shelter for 90 days. However, you can stay for one night, one week, or with approval, extend your stay past 90 days.
No. Stepping Stone is a 24/7 shelter, that means you are not required to leave during the day. However, you are expected to be productive and work towards ending your homelessness. This means that you will have to show progress in your Individual Goal Plan, success in making and attending various appointments, and completing your daily assigned work training.
While staying at Stepping Stone, you will be expected to complete your assigned work training, meet with your case manager, and treat staff, other residents, and volunteers with respect. You will also be expected to work through our Program Elements, which are designed to assist you in ending your homelessness. These, and other aspects of daily life and expectations at Stepping Stone, will be explained during your intake meeting with your case manager. Failure to do these things may result in being asked to leave Stepping Stone.
Stepping Stone has two wings, one for men and one for women. Each wing has two pods consisting of three bedrooms apiece. The bedrooms include four bunkbeds (eight beds), with the exception of one of the women’s bedrooms, which has only two bunkbeds (four beds.). Each pod has access to two full baths which are shared among the residents in that pod.
No, we do not administer medications. Only over-the-counter and personal prescription medications are allowed at Stepping Stone. You will be given a personal locker to store your prescription medications. You are responsible for providing a lock for your locker, keeping it locked at all times, and not sharing the key/combination with anyone, including staff.
Stepping Stone strives to remove as many barriers as possible; however, there are certain actions that are strictly forbidden. These include, but are not limited to:
- Any type of verbal aggression, hate speech, or attempts at physical harm.
- Possession, use, sale, or storage of a weapon, firearm, or fireworks on property or campus.
- Possession, use, sale, or storage of alcohol, illegal drugs, non-prescribed medication, inhalants or drug paraphernalia.
- Theft or destruction of another resident’s, staff’s, volunteer’s personal or Stepping Stone’s property.
- Entering the room of another resident.
- Sexual harassment of another resident, employee, or volunteer.
No, we do not have vouchers. And no, we cannot get them for you.
No, we do not find housing for our residents. However, we provide resources that support residents conducting their own search for housing.
Please review our current list of needs (please include a link to this list). Unfortunately we are not able to accept items like appliances, furniture, children’s clothing or other items unless we specifically ask for them.
For specialized donation requests, please like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/steppingstoneeh/.
If you have clothing to donate:
Please donate your items to ACBC Foodshelf or call them at 763-422-0426 for more information.
If you have furniture to donate:
Please contact Bridging or call them at 651-631-3255 for more information.
If you have an appliance to donate:
Please contact A1 Appliances or call them at 763-712-1344 for more information.
Please contact our front desk at 763-323-7006 or donate@steppingstoneeh.org to set up a time to drop off your donation. We are not able to accept donations unless a time has been previously arranged by our staff. Thank you for your understanding.
Yes and no. Yes, you may drop off religious information. It will only be displayed at the director’s discretion and if space permits. No, you may not drop off political literature. Stepping Stone’s policies forbid the display of any partisan political information.
- Featured website placement all year
- Blog recognition and featured article
- Logo featured in quarterly newsletter
- Facebook acknowledgement of partnership and support
- Brand distinction as socially responsible
- Be a part of forward-thinking approach to ending homelessness
- Customized volunteer engagement opportunities
- Opportunity to use Stepping Stone’s logo to promote company’s philanthropic efforts
Tim joined the board of Stepping Stone in 2014 and has held several board leadership positions. For the last three years, he has served as board Chair and President. He joined the Stepping Stone board as a way to give back to the community in which he lives, with the goal of making a difference in people’s lives. Outside of Stepping Stone, Tim is a versatile business leader with over 37 years in executive and managerial roles in the medtech industry. He spent 30 years at Medtronic, which included global leadership roles. Tim currently leads a management advisory firm serving the medtech industry. He enjoys a variety of outdoor activities with his family including hiking, camping, and fishing.
Mike has been an Anoka County Commissioner since 2015 and served as Mayor of Andover from 2001 through 2014. He has been working for General Mills for 42 years and is still going strong. Mike has been a resident of Andover since 1985, and his interests outside of work are golf, baseball (even this season), history, and all kinds of music, from classic rock to country and jazz. Ask anyone who knows Mike, and they will let you know he is a Deadhead. Mike became a Stepping Stone Board member because he wanted to do whatever he could to assist those who need help finding a stable home.
Our Mission
Support individuals 18 and over who are experiencing homelessness by accelerating the growth of available shelter that brings education and solutions to our homeless response.
Our Vision
Provide a safe and inclusive community response to ending homelessness for all.
Our Guiding Principles & Values
–Empower individuals to change their lives
-Treat all with dignity and respect
–Collaborate with partners in providing services
-Ensure strong stewardship in managing resources