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We support Hope House

Hope House is an emergency shelter for teenagers in the southwest suburbs of the Twin Cities, and a new, larger Hope House is being built. This page says what it is, what the expansion is, why a builder directory points you at it, and how to help. We collect nothing: every link below goes straight to the organisations that run it.

What Hope House is

180 Degrees, the program partner, describes Hope House as "a six-bed, short-term emergency shelter for youth ages 14–19 who are experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, homelessness", and as "the only youth shelter located west of Highway 100 in the greater Twin Cities."

It is run by three partners. 180 Degrees provides the program: professional services and trauma-informed care. The Open Hands Foundation, established by Westwood Community Church, provides funding, awareness and volunteers. Westwood Community Church provides the house and its upkeep. The Open Hands Foundation puts the cost of running it at $550,000 a year.

In the Open Hands Foundation's words: "Since opening in 2015, Hope House has sheltered more than 700 teens, and it remains the only 24/7/365 emergency shelter serving teens and families in the southwest suburbs of the Twin Cities."

The expansion: HopeBuilds

The foundation's case for it is one line: "The current Hope House simply does not have enough bedrooms. We turn away nearly twice as many youth as we serve."

What the HopeBuilds page says, read 2026-09-27:

  • A new house. "We are building a 3-level, 5,100 sq. ft. New Hope House", which the foundation says will double the crisis shelter bedrooms and add an accessible bedroom and bathroom, and rooms for confidential intakes and family counselling. It lists twelve private bedrooms: eight in the emergency shelter and four "shelter plus".
  • Then a renovation. After the new house is built, the existing 2,800 sq. ft. house gets private bedrooms, safety and security upgrades, new mechanical and plumbing systems, and a new roof, windows and siding. Building in phases means the shelter never closes.
  • The cost. $3,000,000 for the new house and $450,000 for the renovation: $3,450,000 in all.

Status, as the page states it on 2026-09-27: the new house is described in the present tense ("We are building"), and the page gives no completion date. We will not print one until the Open Hands Foundation does.

Why we support it

Dan, who runs HomeBuildersMN, attends Westwood Community Church, which is how we know about Hope House. This site is a directory of the people who build homes in the Twin Cities, and one of the homes being built here is for teenagers who have nowhere safe to sleep. That seemed like the one our readers should hear about. We are not affiliated with 180 Degrees or the Open Hands Foundation and do not speak for them; if anything on this page is out of date, tell us at listings@homebuildersmn.com.

How to help

Give

Donate through the Open Hands Foundation, which funds Hope House and the expansion. Businesses and organisations can become a partner.

Give things the house needs

  • The 180 Degrees in-kind wish list has a list for Hope House, with drop-off arranged by email. 180 Degrees asks for new items only, and has an in-kind form so it can send you a receipt.
  • The Open Hands Foundation's donate-items page lists practical needs, links its Amazon wish list, and has a gift registry for furnishing the new house. It says it cannot take used clothing, furniture or beds.

Volunteer

Events

180 Degrees events, and the Open Hands Foundation's events on its home page.

Sources

Each page read 2026-09-27. Quotations are the organisations' own words.