The Founding Mothers: (L-R) Georganne Danielson, Kate Monson, Jan Sinna, Elgie Cloutier, Patti Fritz, Ruth Hickey, Yvette Marthaler

Ruth’s House opened in 2004 in response to an unmet need for safe shelter for homeless women and children in Rice County, Minnesota. A group of women called the Founding Mothers gathered together with a vision in 2003, and less than a year later Ruth’s House — named after the Biblical Ruth — opened its doors in Faribault.

Since opening in 2004, Ruth’s House has served over 1,200 women and their children in its transitional shelter and in its off-campus permanent supportive housing units.