• Received nurture from the Minnehaha Academy Community during her time as a student
• Sought to share that experience with teens in her current community
• Created the Quincy House

Not the Type

From the outside, Tami (Palmquist) Moberg ('80) appears to be a happily settled suburban mama, not the type to have much in common with troubled teens from the north suburbs.

But the reality is that Quincy House, a place of safety and service for at-risk teens that Moberg co-founded, is also the place where Moberg’s life has come full circle.

From 1975-1980 Moberg attended Minnehaha Academy, a season that she refers to as “bittersweet,” due to the unrest in her home.

“Like many of my Quincy teens I was in need of extra support and love during these years. At Minnehaha, my friends’ parents were life-lines for me.”

Moberg spent many hours in the homes of classmates those years, especially basking in the warmth of the Elsholtz and Holman homes. Dean of students Ken Greener also took extra time to listen to Moberg’s frustrations and sorrows, offering a listening ear and words of comfort.

“I think Minnehaha was God’s grace in my life,” Moberg says.

From the Comfort You Received...

A social work degree, marriage, and five kids later Moberg found herself asking this question: Was it possible God was calling her to comfort others with the same comfort she had received (2 Corinthians 1: 3-5) during her Minnehaha years?

“I was working with students at Irondale High School and watched as teens were not wanting to go home after school. They would hang out in the halls and eventually end up getting in trouble,” she observes.

“I thought, I just need to buy a house near school where these teens can come and find caring adults who could pour into them and hear about their days...maybe chocolate chip cookies, milk,
etcetera! I think the mom in me wanted to let each of them know that they were loved no matter where they had been or what they had done or who they loved.”

A House for Many

This idea wouldn’t leave, and it ultimately led to the founding of the Quincy House. Today, teens from across the north suburbs attend small groups, enjoy family dinners, receive tutoring, and connect with mentors at Quincy House.

Moberg’s days are full: a husband, five grown children, two grandchildren, and the many teens connecting with Quincy House, but she’s fueled by this knowledge:

“Many of our teens at Quincy...are lacking an adult to look into their eyes and tell them they are loved,” Moberg (striped top, pictured below with family) explains.  “This should concern all of us.”