For people searching for housing help and support at home
Can IHS help me find housing or pay my rent?
IHS is a support service, not a rent payment or apartment-finding program. Current DHS policy distinguishes help maintaining a current home from housing-search activities, which IHS does not cover. If you need both housing help and daily support, keep those requests separate. The older Housing Stabilization Services benefit ended October 31, 2025; use current DHS housing resources to explore other options.
Name the housing problem before choosing a service
A search for “housing support” can mean several different things: needing a place tonight, needing help paying rent, wanting to move, or needing assistance managing a routine in an existing home. Write the immediate problem in ordinary language before contacting an agency.
Include any real deadline and where it came from, such as a move date or a notice you received. You do not need to publish personal documents to explain the request. When calling a resource, ask whether it addresses housing access, housing costs, or daily support. This prevents a general promise of “support” from obscuring the actual need.
Understand the IHS boundary
The DHS IHS policy includes tenancy-related support for maintaining a current home and excludes housing searches, apartment tours and lease negotiation. A need to organize an existing household routine is therefore a different question from finding a new apartment. The case manager must review the proposed task within the actual service plan.
Describe the task itself. For example, organizing the steps for reporting an existing maintenance concern is not the same request as obtaining legal advice about a lease. Do not assume an IHS worker can take over a landlord dispute, guarantee housing, or pay an expense because the activity concerns the home.
Do not rely on outdated HSS listings
Minnesota's Housing Stabilization Services program ended on October 31, 2025. Older search results may still describe applications or available HSS services. Check the current DHS program page before relying on those descriptions, and ask any organization you contact exactly which current service it is offering.
A service with a similar name is not automatically the same benefit. Keep the provider name, program name, and date of the explanation in your notes. The purpose of checking is to identify a valid next step, not to assume an old webpage proves current eligibility or availability.
Route different requests to different conversations
The DHS housing resources page lists possible pathways with their own eligibility rules. Previous HSS eligibility does not guarantee eligibility for another resource. Use that directory to identify a relevant contact, then ask about your circumstances.
| Need to explain | Start the conversation about | Keep separate |
|---|---|---|
| No stable place to stay | Current local housing or shelter resources | An IHS staffing inquiry |
| Trouble paying housing costs | Eligibility for housing or basic-needs assistance | The price or authorization of support visits |
| Help with routines in a current home | Assessment and an appropriate support service | A guarantee of tenancy or rent payment |
| Planning a different home | Housing options and move coordination | Assuming IHS covers the housing search |
Use a two-track action list when needs overlap
Make one housing action list and one support action list. Put a named contact and next step beside each. A person can be waiting for a housing response while also discussing the support they may need at home; the two conversations should exchange relevant information without being confused.
Check dependencies. A provider may need a confirmed address to discuss travel and staffing. A housing decision may depend on whether an arrangement meets the person's needs. Mark those dependencies explicitly and ask the responsible teams how to coordinate. Do not sign or change an arrangement based on an assumed future service start.
Prepare a useful provider inquiry once the support need is clear
When speaking with an IHS provider, explain the actual routine, proposed location, and preferred schedule. Say which housing matters are still unresolved. Ask what the provider can evaluate now and what requires an address, plan or authorization first.
Clemens Health can be contacted about its listed support services; this guide does not advertise apartments, rental assistance or an HSS replacement. Keeping the inquiry precise helps the team discuss the support request and direct housing questions back to the appropriate resources.
Housing and daily support request-routing sheet
Use separate entries for housing and support. Record a referral to another resource as a next step, not as approval or an available home.
Download worksheet (.txt)- Immediate housing need
- What housing problem needs an answer, and by when?
Illustrative entry: Current lease question needs a housing contact; no new apartment selected.
- Daily support need
- What activity at home requires assistance?
Illustrative entry: Keeping household correspondence organized.
- Housing contact
- Which current resource handles the housing question?
Illustrative entry: Relevant DHS-listed resource to be contacted; eligibility unknown.
- Support contact
- Who reviews the support service and plan?
Illustrative entry: Case manager to review the routine and appropriate service.
- Dependency
- What must be known before another action can proceed?
Illustrative entry: Provider needs the proposed address before checking travel and staffing.
- Confirmed outcome
- What did each contact actually confirm?
Illustrative entry: Information received only; neither housing nor service start approved.
An optional discussion tool, not an official assessment, authorization, service plan, or emergency plan. Keep completed copies private and share through an agreed channel.
Worked example: one search creates two requests
A person searches for housing support because their lease is ending and they struggle to organize household mail. Their family initially asks an IHS provider to find an apartment. The request sheet separates the housing search from the everyday organizational support. They use current housing resources for the first question and ask the case manager about the second. The provider discussion records the address as unknown and does not promise a start. Both needs stay visible without presenting IHS as a housing-placement service.
This example is invented to explain the worksheet; it is not a client story or a promised outcome.
Your next step
Identify the immediate housing pathway through current DHS resources and ask the planning team to review the separate daily-support request.
For a conversation with Clemens Health about your Twin Cities location, call (651) 354-1196 or send a referral. Service fit, authorization, and staffing need to be confirmed.
Minnesota resources
State resources explain program rules. The worksheet and examples are Clemens Health planning aids. Links were checked October 5, 2026; follow the current state guidance for eligibility and service questions.