Khadija’s family left their home in Somalia 13 years ago after the war began. After four years in a Kenyan refugee camp, she and her two young sons arrived in the United States and settled in Minnesota. They now live the Jourdain, completed in 2006 by Aeon and Hope Community. She’d like to return to Mogadishu someday but says recent pictures show a city flattened by the war. For now, she’s grateful for the peace and stability her new home has provided for her family. “Thank you. Thank you to the United States for welcoming us,” she says.

Jesse, who grew up with a sister with Down Syndrome, is a personal care attendant for children with disabilities. But his wages put market-rate apartments out of reach. He found affordable apartment at Aeon’s Crane Ordway in St. Paul. “Having a decent place to stay and not paying an arm and a leg for rent—it gives you a little breathing room,” he says. An artist as well, he’s working to turn the building’s Community Room into a gallery of residents’ artwork.

At 18, Brittiney took the unimaginable step of moving out on her own to ensure that her family wasn’t evicted for exceeding their apartment’s occupancy limits. “It was either me or we were all going to get put out,” she says. “I said to my mom, ‘I’m the oldest. I’m 18. I’ll see if I can find someplace else to live.’” She now lives in Aeon’s Archdale Apartments for homeless youth. Among her goals are to become a pastor, go to college, publish a book, and see her paintings displayed at the Walker Art Center.