Perspectives, Inc.

Mission

To improve the quality of life for at-risk and homeless families and children.

Programs

Perspectives was founded in the Twin Cities West Metro Suburbs in 1976 by a small group of individuals with a desire to foster community awareness of chemical dependency. From that first step three and a half decades ago, we have grown into an award-winning, multi-service agency, now located in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. In a major shift that began around twenty years ago, Perspectives went from offering broad based community education to providing direct services for specifically targeted populations. We accelerated the change of direction in the late 1980’s with new programs that address the issues of recovering and homeless women with children. We have provided comprehensive services through these programs to thousands of homeless and disadvantaged family members.

Perspectives has implemented four programs to provide life changing opportunities for homeless and at-risk families and their children. They target the immediate core needs of human existence: housing, nutrition, education, and finances. After securing these requirements, we address the issues that will change lives on a longer term basis. We do so with comprehensive strategies for maintaining sobriety, improving mental health, parenting skills, finding employment, and developing positive self-esteem. These are the attributes that build stable families and create safer and more viable communities. Most importantly, we seek to break generational patterns by providing children’s programming to break the cycles of poverty and to provide a promising future – one filled with vision and hope for a better tomorrow.

But we are not resting on our laurels. Perspectives will celebrate 35 years of service by replicating the success of our four critically acclaimed programs currently underway with three new programs:

Main Street Collaborative (founded in 2010) will build upon its inaugural year of comprehensive mental health programming for both Perspectives and Wayside House supportive housing residents;

Reading by 3rd Grade, newly funded by United Way, will tutor pre-school children who live in our supportive housing, as well as other children referred to us by the St. Louis Park School District:

A new Employment & Training Program, funded by Hennepin County in January 2011, will serve our supportive housing residents. Looking further in the future, a major Children’s Earth Science Program, featuring roof top gardens and a greenhouse, is currently in the planning stage.