RIVER FALLS — Our Neighbors’ Place has been a non-profit in the heart of River Falls for over a decade, pushing to connect Pierce and St. Croix County residents with services to overcome housing instability. They offer five main resource programs that help people across the two counties meet basic needs.

The five programs they offer are a drop-in day center, an open to the public closet thrift store, a backpack program, transitional housing for homeless families and a helping hands financial assistance program.

The drop-in day center allows those in need to shower, do laundry, have access to food resources, provides a mailing address and gives access to a case manager for those in need.

“It primarily focuses on helping people who are experiencing housing instability or homelessness,” Executive Director Shelly Smith said.

The closet thrift store is open to the public, as purchases raise money for the organization. It also functions as a free service to those in need and provides them diapers as well as personal and household care items.

The backpack program is through the River Falls School District. They provide backpacks of food and vouchers that go home with students of families in need each week.

Transitional housing is located in a four-unit building. Families in need can live there for up to two years and work with a case manager as they navigate housing instability to find more permanent housing.

Lastly, the helping hands fund provides financial assistance for River Falls and Ellsworth residents. The fund covers things like car insurance, phones and daycare to help people get and/or stay employed.

“We run them out of one building here in River Falls,” Smith said of the programs. “We’ve been making due for a very long time with a building that is too small. But, when you’re a small non-profit, that’s what you do. You work with the resources you have.”

The backpack program has been run out of Ezekiel Lutheran Church because there is no longer enough room at Our Neighbors’ Place. That is why the non-profit explored expanding their current building. After discussions, they found it made more sense logically and fiscally to construct an entirely new building at the site of the current one.

They purchased the building through a low interest loan from the city in 2021 from the owner of Dick’s Fresh Market. According to Smith, a new building would allow large families and motorized wheelchairs into the office and allow for collaboration with other organizations more frequently. Smith said they are extremely thankful to Ezekiel Lutheran for housing the backpack program, but they would like to have everything in one place, and this new building would allow for that. They used to have a partnership with UWRF for social work interns, which space limitations put on hold. The project would allow that partnership to resume.

“We have a lot of folks who come in and hang out with us,” Smith said. “I can’t tell you how important it is to have a safe, non-judgmental space where you can be. That matters so much more than any of us with stable housing realize.”

Our Neighbors’ Place started a capital campaign with a $2.3 million goal and is 90% of the way there.

“We’re very close. So close, in fact, that we’re having weekly meetings with the architect and the builders,” Smith said. “We certainly couldn’t have done what we’ve done so far without the support of individuals, businesses, churches, civic groups. So many people step up and want to help.”

They hope to break ground in June with construction that would last about a year. Temporarily, they would relocate to a Main Street building near Veterans Park. To donate, visit ourneighborsplace.org/every-need-every-neighbor/.

“It’s really easy to live in our area and not see the needs. You don’t see the hunger. You don’t see the homelessness,” Smith said.

Smith said many live above the poverty line, but still face financial struggle every single day. While a lot of people wanting to live in the area is a good thing, it comes with housing instability for others.