Miriam’s House to Open Family Shelter in Response to Growing Need
At Miriam’s House, our mission has always been to end homelessness and rebuild lives—and that means continually evolving to meet the most urgent needs of our community. Over the past year, we’ve seen a heartbreaking rise in the number of families with children experiencing unsheltered homelessness. More families are sleeping in cars, in abandoned buildings, or in other unsafe places than ever before.
In response, we are converting our building at 409 Magnolia Street into an emergency family shelter, opening in early 2026. This new shelter will provide immediate safety and stability for families in crisis, along with the wraparound support needed to help them transition into permanent housing.
This decision came after careful reflection, data analysis, and conversations with our partners, board, and staff. For the past eight years, our Magnolia Street facility has operated as a supportive housing program for chronically homeless women. While that program has been deeply impactful, the need for family shelter has now outpaced available resources. By reconfiguring our space, we can offer help where it is most urgently needed—ensuring that children and parents in our community have a safe place to stay and a path out of homelessness.
Below, we’ve compiled answers to some frequently asked questions about this important transition.
FAQ: Facility Conversion to Family Shelter
Why is Miriam’s House converting its facility from supportive housing to a family shelter?
There has been a significant rise in the number of families with children experiencing unsheltered homelessness in our community. Last year, 40% of the families in our Community First program experienced unsheltered homelessness (sleeping in their car, abandoned building, etc.).
Emergency shelter options for families are extremely limited, and this conversion allows us to respond to the most urgent and unmet need. While supportive housing can be successful in the community, a family shelter requires a facility.
How will the family shelter be funded?
In December 2024 Miriam’s House received a generous $1.25 million grant through the Bezos Day One Families Fund. The grant is to be used over the next five years to expand our work helping homeless families.
Miriam’s House will use part of the grant to expand Community First—which helps homeless families with initial housing costs like security deposits and rent, and provides in-home case management to assist with employment, health care, childcare, and school enrollment. In addition, some of the funding will support operations of the family shelter over its first four years, while we pursue local support to fully sustain the shelter long-term.
Who benefits?
Families with children who have no safe place to stay—many of whom are sleeping in cars—will have immediate access to safe shelter and a faster pathway to permanent housing.
What will the new family shelter offer?
The family shelter will provide immediate, safe housing along with supportive services such as case management, housing navigation, and access to basic needs like food, hygiene supplies, and laundry.
A strong focus will be placed on meeting the needs of children through strategic partnerships with our school system, daycare providers, pediatricians, and child enrichment programs. Families will also have access to our Community First program, offering short- to medium-term rental assistance and wraparound supportive services to ensure they quickly exit shelter to their own home and are successful in their new housing.
What happens to the supportive housing program currently in this facility?
The supportive housing program, Magnolia Street Supportive Housing, is being carefully transitioned. We are working closely with all current residents to ensure stable, alternative housing options and to minimize any disruption in services. Each resident will receive the level of support they need to be successful. For some residents this means a transfer to an alternative supportive housing program to continue receiving wraparound services while others will transition to independent living in the community.
How does this change align with your mission and strategic plan?
Our mission is to end homelessness and rebuild lives. One way we do this is by providing housing and supportive services. This change allows us to serve families in crisis more effectively while maintaining our commitment to housing-first, trauma-informed care.
Our strategic plan includes a goal of functionally ending family homelessness, and this new family shelter will allow us to make significant progress toward that goal.
What will remain the same?
Our commitment to ending homelessness through compassionate, evidence-based services remains unchanged. This shelter will further our Housing First approach as it is much more humane and efficient to assist a homeless family with securing rental housing when they are in a safe and welcoming shelter rather than sleeping in their car.
How You Can Get Involved
We’re deeply grateful for the outpouring of encouragement and excitement we’ve already received from the community. Starting November 1, Miriam’s House will begin accepting shelter-related donations—including new bedding, household items, children’s supplies, and other essentials to help us prepare the space for families.
You can also support this effort by making a financial contribution, volunteering your time, or simply sharing our story to raise awareness of family homelessness in our community.
Please reach out to Sarah Quarantotto at sarah@miriamshouse.org for more information or to discuss how you can support this transition.