Blog
NMI Spotlight: Emma Norton Services
by Catey Miller
For more than a century, Emma Norton Services has provided transformational housing and support for women, individuals, and families navigating homelessness in the St. Paul, Minnesota, area. Grounded in a trauma-informed approach, this National Mission Institution (NMI) offers dignity, stability, and care to people facing compounded challenges, including mental illness, substance use, disability, and the lasting effects of violence and intergenerational poverty.
United Women in Faith supports Emma Norton’s housing and wraparound services, which annually help more than 300 people, from single adult women to large families, move from homelessness toward long-term stability. All of those served live at or below the federal poverty level; most who enter the program earn less than $20,000 annually. Through permanent supportive housing, scattered-site housing, and intensive case management, Emma Norton works both to meet immediate housing needs and to address the deeper issues from which instability and uncertainty arise.
Restoring Waters
In 2024, Emma Norton opened Restoring Waters, Minnesota’s first trauma-informed supportive housing residence. This 60-unit development provides safe, affordable housing for individuals and small families, along with 24/7 staff support and on-site services. Thanks to the combined efforts of staff members, volunteers, and local church groups, Restoring Waters’ new residents have quality furniture, welcome kits with household essentials (e.g., bedding, dishes, towels), stocked pantries, and freezer-ready homemade meals. Another key success in 2024 was the addition of Emma Norton’s Living Room program, an innovative, peer-led mental health support space open to both residents and community members. According to Advancement Director Shawna Nelson-Wills, the goal of the Living Room is to provide “a more holistic and compassionate alternative to emergency rooms [during] a mental health crisis.”
Restoring Waters isn’t the only site experiencing growth: Emma’s Place, a site in Maplewood that serves large families, is welcoming an increasing number of babies and young children. To meet these young residents’ needs, the organization is expanding early childhood programming to support parents, strengthen family bonds, and promote healthy development through community-based activities. Across its sites, Nelson-Wills says, “Our goal is to offer new programs in the areas of art, gardening, nutrition, wellness, and more.”
Messages of Care
Emma Norton’s responsiveness to emerging needs is not limited to its established programs. Amid recent heightened stress and uncertainty across Minnesota in early 2026, the organization reached out to supporters and neighbors with messages of care, solidarity, and reassurance — reminding the community that support, connection, and safe spaces remain available. This ability to respond in real time reflects Emma Norton’s broader mission: to meet people where they are, especially when circumstances shift suddenly or painfully.
As Emma Norton Services continues to evolve, its priorities remain rooted in its core values: embracing humanity, cultivating community, sparking creativity, and inspiring joy. With your support, NMIs like Emma Norton can continue showing up for their communities in bold, practical ways. Our members help make these organizations unstoppable.
We invite United Women in Faith members and friends to support the work of our National Mission Institutions by giving online here or by writing a check to your local treasurer with memo “National Missions #3001152.” To learn more about National Mission Institutions, contact NMI@uwfaith.org.
Catey Miller is a communications consultant with National Mission Institutions at United Women in Faith.
