About Us

We are uniting voices to shape Minnesota’s housing future.

Young girl with curly hair coloring on a piece of paper inside a cardboard box, with two adults in the background surrounded by packing boxes.
An elderly woman and man standing outside in a garden, with the woman holding a bouquet of flowers. They are in front of a house with plants and a white picket fence.
Black and white photo of a snowy park with winding pathways and a city skyline in the background.

Home Stories is a statewide initiative to shift how Minnesotans understand and talk about housing. Anchored by the Heading Home Minnesota Funders Collaborative, it builds on years of research and partnership advocates, community leaders, funders, and storytellers.

At its heart, Home Stories is about connection: among people, places, and possibilities. We use strategic messaging and storytelling to show that housing is not just a policy issue, but a foundation for thriving communities. Through shared narratives, we’re building public will for long-term solutions that ensure every Minnesotan has a safe, stable place to call home.

Housing is
About People

Not just units, budgets, or zoning. Yet too often, it’s discussed in terms that feel distant from everyday life. Narrative change helps close that gap.

When we lead with real stories and shared values, we make housing personal, relatable, and urgent. Research shows that Minnesotans respond most strongly to messages that link housing to community and opportunity. By lifting up the voices of renters, homeowners, service providers, and advocates, we expand understanding of what’s at stake and why it matters.

Narrative change doesn’t replace policy. It prepares the ground for it by building empathy, strengthening coalitions, and helping communities imagine what’s possible when everyone has a safe, stable place to call home.

Our Partners

Home Stories is an initiative of the Heading Home Minnesota Funders Collaborative and supported by a statewide network of community leaders, advocates, and funders. Together, we’re building the infrastructure needed to sustain long-term narrative alignment across sectors, geographies, and generations.

The initiative began with Minnesota Housing Partnership and the McKnight Foundation, who commissioned the Housing Narrative Lab to conduct foundational research on how Minnesotans think and talk about housing. That research shaped the messaging strategy that now powers Home Stories.

A group of five young people playing a board game at a table with glasses of drinks in a cozy indoor setting, with two people in the background working on laptops.