Hammer Residences, Inc.

12/13/2025

The Power of Support

When a single mom faced eviction, our Success Coach stepped in with actionable steps and resources. She kept her home—and her job as a valued Lead DSP.
This is what person-centered support looks like: real solutions for real people. 💜

Campaign donors have made the difference with their gift to support our employees. You can help too.
📽️Watch and share our launch video https://youtu.be/2iVkErb-Xks

🌐Learn more or donate: hammer.org/together-we-ensure-tomorrow

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12/12/2025

Our DSPs of the Month for December are Beatta Smith (County Road F) and Ernest Gargar (Ridgeview). Nenseh Sakpeider (from Lawndale) is our Program Manager of the Month. Read about all that these dedicated and caring staff do for those we support! https://hammer.org/blog/2025/12/dsps-pms-of-the-month-december/

12/11/2025

Coaching = Confidence + Career Growth

From crisis support to career development, our Success Coach helps employees overcome barriers and achieve goals.

Whether it’s learning typing skills or planning for leadership roles, we’re investing in people—and it’s paying off!

Donors make the difference with their Employee Support. You can help too.

🌐Learn more or donate: hammer.org/together-we-ensure-tomorrow

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12/10/2025

The Coldwell Banker Realty White Bear Lake team have been great partners with Hammer & NER. Team members have volunteered through Cooks in the Kitchen, raking leaves, and more. Additionally, Hammer & NER is honored to benefit from their annual holiday silent auction. The auction runs from 11 am to 2 pm today! Feel free to bid (items will need to be picked up at their office or one of Hammer & NER’s offices).

Silent auction 'CBCares2025' hosted online at 32auctions.

12/09/2025

We were honored to partner with Living Well Disability Services at their ICF group home in Long Lake to show Minnesota State Representative Andrew Myers how government funding directly supports and sustains the quality of life for people with developmental and other disabilities. These dollars pay for safe housing, daily living support, medical oversight, and the staffing needed to keep people healthy, stable, and engaged in their community.

Without this funding, people with developmental disabilities would lose essential care and the stability they rely on every day. The projected Medicaid and disability services cuts put the entire system — and the people it supports — at serious risk.

12/09/2025

The Winter edition of Discoveries is here!

Learn how families, staff, and supporters are coming together to ensure a bright future through our Together, We Ensure Tomorrow campaign.

Read the latest issue:
👉 https://hammer.org/2025-winter-discoveries/

12/08/2025

Say hello to one of our newest volunteers, Khalia. She’s a new volunteer with Hammer Travel. Welcome to the Hammer Travel family and Bon Voyage!

If you would like to find a meaningful place to volunteer like Khalia please contact Cathy Thoma at cthoma@hammer.org or visit Hammer.org/Volunteer

12/07/2025

We love seeing the people we support making an impact in the community! 💙🎁

We recently received wonderful photos from Emily Robillard — Lead DSP at our Gardner home and Special Needs Ministry Associate at Woodridge Church in Long Lake. We’re incredibly grateful for Emily’s dedication to both Hammer & NER and to special needs ministry.

Emily shared that The King’s Community recently completed their annual community service project: packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. It was a record-breaking year — 75 boxes packed, nearly double last year’s total! 🙌

Participants also created fall leaf crosses with notes about what they’re thankful for. Each shoebox included a card where individuals could share their name and why they love Jesus. One message from Nathan, who lives at one of our apartment programs, deeply moved everyone. He wrote simply: “He made me.”

How beautiful to witness his confidence in being “fearfully and wonderfully made.” 💛

Thank you to Emily, Woodridge Church, and all who participated for creating such a meaningful night of service and gratitude.

12/06/2025

We’re grateful to the Star Tribune for shining a light on the impact Minnesota’s new moratorium on disability group homes and services is having on people with disabilities, their families, and the providers who support them.

Hammer & NER’s CEO, John Estrem, spoke honestly in the article about the challenges this decision creates for organizations already working hard to meet growing needs — and how the freeze limits innovation and the development of new, person-centered options.

We’re also deeply thankful to Joel and Mary Amundson, parents of one of the individuals we support, for courageously sharing their family’s story. Their perspective highlights exactly why stability, flexibility, and ongoing investment in disability services matter so much.

If you’d like to understand why so many providers and families are raising concerns, the full article is worth a read: https://www.startribune.com/providers-decry-state-moratorium-for-new-disability-group-homes-programs/601538754

Together, we’ll keep advocating for solutions that protect people with disabilities and strengthen the supports they deserve.

The two-year pause, intended to ward off fraud, will leave programs in limbo and clients’ needs unmet, providers say.

12/05/2025

Ensuring Tomorrow for Those Who Need It Most 🌟

“For over 100 years, Hammer/NER has been committed to serving people with developmental disabilities. Their mission is simple yet powerful: to help individuals age in place with dignity as their needs change.

As a parent of someone living with Hammer, I can say this brings our family immense peace of mind—knowing our son will be cared for with the respect every person deserves, even after we’re gone.

We’re proud to support this campaign. If you have the ability and the heart, please join us in helping Hammer/NER reach its goal of creating a secure future for those who cannot achieve it on their own.” –Hugh Kirsch

👉 Learn more and make a difference today: https://hammer.org/together-we-ensure-tomorrow/

12/04/2025

A huge thank-you to our wonderful friends at Color Glo for spending their time with us yesterday as part of our Cooks in the Kitchen program! The delicious meals you prepared will be enjoyed and appreciated in our homes.

12/03/2025

🍂🦃 Thanksgiving memories from our West Office! 🦃🍂

We had such a wonderful time celebrating Thanksgiving with the amazing people we support and our dedicated staff. From delicious food and desserts to great conversation, it was a day full of gratitude and joy!

A huge thank you to all the volunteers and staff who made this special event possible. 💛

Check out the photo gallery from our celebration here: https://hammer.org/photo-gallery/2025-thanksgiving/ 📸