Megan Brankley's new place has the feel of a college dorm.

Her foster sister sits nearby, tapping away at the keyboard on a pink cell phone as pop and rap music blares from the stereo in the corner.

Red- and blue-wrapped condoms sit in a container near the building entrance.

Residents in pajamas or gym shorts roam the halls or plop down in front of desktops in the computer lab.

"It's pretty normal," Brankley said.

The teenager is among 24 tenants at Lincoln Place, a residence in Eagan that helps youth in danger of homelessness make the transition to adulthood.

The 315-square-foot studio apartments are intended for 18- to 24-year-olds, but most residents are under 20.

"Yeah, it kind of has that dorm atmosphere," program manager Keith Koegler said.

But the young adults at Lincoln Place have more than classes and weekend parties on their minds.

Some have aged out of foster care with few, if any, options. Others have fled broken and abusive homes, with little support and little more than the clothes on their backs.

Last year, a survey found 50 young adults in Dakota County who were homeless or on the verge. The county and its Community Development Agency built Lincoln Place, a $4.7 million, three-story apartment building, to address the need.

The facility opened April 1 and filled to capacity in about three months.

"With some of the barriers they face, most people would struggle to have a decent life," said case manager Jennifer Ernst. "They have more issues than just needing a place to live."

Since April, Brankley has bounced from the home of her adoptive parents to foster care, friends' couches and cheap motels.

A native of Honduras, the 18-year-old came to Dakota County before her first birthday via adoption and has lived many places.

But now, after 18 years, the teenager has a place of her own to call home. She even has enough space for two roommates -- her calico hamsters, Dev and Dorothy.

"It's pretty nice," she said.

Baby pictures of herself and snapshots of friends and family line the walls. Drawings of her and her birth mother are posted above the kitchen sink.

"These are young adults trying to work on the next step in their lives," Koegler said.

The questions they grapple with range from how to access health care to how to cook macaroni and cheese, staff members said.

Lincoln Place rules require at least 20 hours of work, school or community service each week for residents. Alcohol and illicit drugs are barred from the premises, but tenants don't have curfews.

For many of them, Ernst serves as the link to social services and the outside world. She budgets at least 30 minutes per week with each tenant, but she often spends twice that.

In her lighter moments, Ernst does the Cha Cha Slide with the young adults or takes walks with them to talk over problems, but she said she is firm when the job calls for it.

"I try not to be a nagging mom," Ernst said. "The hardest part is to help them take initiative, helping them to help themselves."

A friend is giving Brankley driving lessons, and she has enrolled at Eagan High School to finish up the last few credits she needs to earn her diploma.

When she isn't inviting other tenants over for her renowned chicken tacos, she's searching for a part-time job to earn a few extra bucks.

The Link, a nonprofit that operates a similar facility in Hennepin County, staffs Lincoln Place around the clock, providing support and security.

Most tenants sign a 12-month lease, making the relationship more personal than a temporary shelter that gives them a 60- or 90-day reprieve from the streets or couch-hopping.

Tenants pay rent based on a sliding scale that requires 30 percent of their gross income. Those without jobs still must find a way to pay $50 per month and the $350 security deposit.

"It teaches them responsibility and budgeting," Koegler said, "but it allows them to think 'This is what it feels like to live in a nice place.'"

One tenant didn't always have that luxury.

'I had nowhere to go'

Before landing at Lincoln Place in May, Heather Hemann ran out of money and food.

She eked out three extra months without rent at her old apartment complex in Inver Grove Heights; the absentee property manager failed to show up and collect payment.

The 19-year-old credits the generosity of friends, and the free hotel stays and food supplied on trips with the Student Senate at Inver Hills Community College, with staving off total collapse.

But with her frequent hunger pangs, getting to class was tough, and the schoolwork was tougher. She spent a month in the middle of fall semester hospitalized, battling depression.

An honor student who racked up more than 20 college credits before graduating from high school, Hemann lost her medical insurance, depleted her medication and landed on financial and academic probation.

"Things were really stressful for me," Hemann said.

She aged out of foster care in Albert Lea and resigned to living life on the streets rather than returning to her birth family in Austin. When she heard about Lincoln Place, she prayed she'd land a spot.

"I had nowhere to go," she said. "Without this place, I don't know where I'd be right now."

Since landing in Eagan, Hemann has visited adentist, had her prescriptions refilled and scored a new pair of glasses. Ernst also connected her with the local food shelf.

While Hemann spends her days job hunting, she also helps tend the community garden at the Eagan Resource Center and takes home fresh produce for her efforts.

"I really like this place. I actually have food now," Hemann said. "I love it here, I really do."

Corey Mitchell • 612-673-4491