Creating Belonging Through Partnership: Osseo ECFE and Hennepin County Family Shelter

By Osseo Area Schools ECFE

In Fall 2023, our Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) Community Liaison learned about a local site within our school district that was being used as temporary housing for families experiencing homelessness. Many of the families were refugees—new to our community and navigating tremendous challenges.

Recognizing both the need and the opportunity to help, our team began meeting with community agencies to explore how we might best support these families—especially those with young children. We learned that families were living in small, hotel-style rooms with little space to play. In response, ECFE staff partnered with Helping Us Grow (HUG) to provide weekly visits for families with children ages birth to three. These visits offered one-on-one parenting support and connections to school and community resources.

To create opportunities for play and connection, ECFE began offering weekly playtimes at Willow Lane Early Childhood Center. Families were provided transportation and enjoyed a packed lunch to take home after each session. Our Parent Educator also worked tirelessly to help families meet their most basic needs—securing car seats, diapers, and warm clothing for young children. Families were then invited to join an ECFE class once a week, complete with transportation and a meal.

Summer 2024 – We offered once a week community outings for families with young children. They went to community parks and the local library.

Fall 2024 – Hennepin County library set up a play space at the shelter and we were able to continue playtimes once a week after school hours. We focused on providing art and sensory experiences for the children which we quickly learned were equally (if not more) engaging for the parents. With the lack of cooking space, we found the parents enjoyed rolling and squishing play dough. Families were discouraged from having messy materials such as markers, paint, glue in their rooms so the children looked forward to the opportunity to use these items. We also created 18 toy bins that families could check out. In addition, we added a second parent educator and the two of them were able to offer individual visits with families to support them in their parenting.

Summer 2025 – We continued to provide playtime with a parent educator to connect with families. In addition, we provided families with a summer fun bag of materials such as bubbles, chalk, a ball, water paint pen and paper.

Fall 2025 – We are continuing to provide a weekly playtime for families with young children with an early childhood educator and parent educator (bilingual Spanish). We are also continuing to offer toy bins for families to checkout. The photos attached are from our most recent playtime. The painting was done mostly by the parents of the children.

Over the last 2 years, we have partnered with Hennepin County library to support families living in the shelter. We have sought to be responsive to the changing needs of the families living there. This has led to new learning and a different way of providing programming. Our hope is that we give families an opportunity to enjoy time together and feel supported.

"Many of the families we met had spent months—some even years—walking in search for safety. Children were born along the way. We couldn’t change their circumstances, but by showing up each week, offering respect, and creating a safe space for children to play and parents to feel seen, we gave them something powerful: a sense of belonging. And when it was time to leave the shelter, most families wanted to stay in the community. They told us, ‘For the first time in a long time, we feel like we belong.’" - Timka Remetic, Osseo ECFE Community Liaison