Our History
“Like most day shelters, Listening House started in a church basement. It was a parishioner who, in 1983, chose to listen, not judge, as she built services on what she heard. It’s a common story. Churches have long been a safe haven for those who suffer and are in need. They often have been the birthplaces of service and social justice movements. Yet, services on the backs of only volunteers and in church basements are limiting.
“Get a storefront, wait, and pray. If God wants it, He’ll pay for it.”
This was the business plan of our founders who realized their dream in December 1983 when a benevolent businessman offered three months free rent and two folding chairs. Their aspiration was simple: “Listen. Do not preach; do not try to fix, just listen.”
Timeline
December 1983
Listening House of St. Paul opens at its first storefront location through the generous offer by a businessman who offered three-months free rent and two folding chairs. Five to 25 people visited daily at that time. One journalist wrote, “They come for a cup of coffee, to meet friends, play dominoes or guitar, sit alone in peace or sort through a troubling problem with someone who will listen.” Little did anyone know it was only the beginning of a swell of people who would be homeless.
April 1995
In 1995, a downtown revitalization project triggered a decision to end our lease, and Listening House became homeless. Assumption Church rescued the mission by offering free office space. Staff stayed connected through street outreach until space was secured at 215 Ninth Street West in Downtown St. Paul. We were then offered a new home in the lower level of First Lutheran Church at 464 Maria Avenue in East St. Paul. Though our spaces were humble, friendships were rich and we actively engage with surrounding homes and businesses to be a good neighbor. Support comes from a variety of sources and includes financial contributions, in-kind donations, professional services, and over 10,000 hours of volunteer assistance, annually. Though services were added, staff never lost sight of the mission: To Listen.
January 2021
Our second location - Freedom House opens at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Every month of 2021 we served more guests than the last, and our staff of 5 grew to 35. The addition of Freedom House gave us the ability to provide much needed showers, (5,000 per year), laundry (84 loads per week), and quiet semi-private rooms with beds for sleep (2,500 hours per month). We were the only day space in the Twin Cities that had a place to sleep for individuals who work overnight. We went from an average of 18,000 individual daily visits per year to over 60,000 and were a hub for vaccinations and testing for COVID-19, Flu, STDs, AIDS, and other medical challenges. The Freedom House location, established in response to the pandemic, was the result of a successful collaboration between stakeholders who care deeply about all residents of the community we share: Ramsey County, the City of St. Paul, the St. Paul Fire Department, St. Paul City Council, partner agencies, community members, local businesses, the Listening House Board of Directors, and the donors and funders all of whom make serving the mission possible.
November 2023
In November 2023, after 40 years of operations, Listening House is making a historic move into a fully-owned, independently operated building in the Lowertown neighborhood of St. Paul. The three-year, $6 million project is a lot of things, but at its core, it is about legitimacy. It is about seeing and legitimizing those in poverty and not pushing them from neighborhood to neighborhood as if they don’t have a right to exist. It is about valuing first-class services that don’t require an entry fee. It’s the crazy idea that the value of people is that they are people and not how much they can pay for things. Because at some point, existing should not be a pay-to-play experience.