The Families First program provides qualifying families with a $300 monthly rent supplement and ongoing supportive services for three years. The Community Stabilization Project, Saint Paul City School in partnership with Model Cities, Neighborhood House, and YWCA Saint Paul provide supportive services.

Families are drawn from seven participating schools in Saint Paul: St. Paul City School, Benjamin E. Mays IB World School, Dayton’s Bluff Achievement Plus Elementary, Jackson Elementary, John A. Johnson Achievement Plus Elementary, Maxfield Elementary School, and Saint Paul Music Academy.

In order to qualify for Families First, families must:

1. Rent in Saint Paul
2. Not receive other housing assistance (such as public housing or Section 8).
3. Have at least one child in one of the participating schools
4. Spend at least 40% of their household income on rent.
5. Meet specific income limit requirements based on their household size.
6. Landlord Engagement- We partner with landlords to get families to a zero balance.
7. Working on relationships to move to the next level of placing families in units.
8. Housing Education – Providing education on housing, offering meetings to help other providers and networking to reach all systems involved.