Woodbury Hotel To Serve As Emergency Homeless Shelter

WOODBURY, MN — A block of rooms at WoodSpring Suites in Woodbury will be set aside for the next year for people experiencing homelessness.

The Washington County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved a $275,000 contract with the hotel to reserve rooms for emergency shelter from Feb. 1 through Jan. 31, 2023.

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, according to Jennifer Castillo, director of community services for Washington County.

The Washington County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday also approved a $325,000 contract with Stillwater Inn & Suites for emergency-shelter rooms.

The board voted in August to spend $800,000 of Washington County’s American Rescue Plan Act funds to provide people with short-term emergency housing while the county’s Community Development Agency searches for permanent housing options.

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Three-quarters of that funding will be spent to secure about 20 total rooms at WoodSpring Suites and Stillwater Inn & Suites. The remaining $200,000 will be used to provide the rooms’ residents with support services and meals, Castillo said.

Providing 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.

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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.

Washington County’s 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.

The 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, Castillo told Patch on Wednesday, with about two dozen people being housed in 20 rooms. And the need for emergency shelter could rise with the imminent end of a major rental-assistance program for Minnesotans.

Woodbury Residents Must Apply By Friday For Rental Assistance

RentHelpMN, a state-run program that uses federal coronavirus-relief funds to help residents cover overdue rent, will stop 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.

Castillo encouraged residents to call “sooner than later” if they need assistance.