Family Houselessness

The Dorothy Day House keeps families experiencing houselessness together, creating a safe haven and a community for entire families. This is part of the Dorothy Day tradition. The video below captures some of the issues families face when seeking shelter.

How do FAMILIES become houseless?

Most families become houseless through one of three circumstances: trauma, unemployment/under-employment, or generational poverty. Nearly half of American households live from paycheck to paycheck. This means that a family can fall into houselessness very quickly if the wage earner loses a job, suffers a cutback in work hours, or if the wage earner does not make a salary sufficient to support the family. Additionally, family houselessness can occur without warning when a family is in distress because of a house fire, the death or sudden absence of the main wage earner, the expense of medical bills, a car accident, or other unexpected circumstances. No matter what the cause of their houselessness is, we welcome all families and work with them to get them into stable housing and secure employment.

Why is it difficult for families to find shelter?

In typical shelters, unhoused families are often separated.  Men are sent to one shelter while women, girls, and little boys are sent to another shelter. Parents often must place their teenage boys in foster care or find someone willing to provide a home and care for them.  This means that parents cannot stay with their older sons; fathers must leave their daughters and small sons; husbands are separated from wives. Often, rather than experience the trauma of separation, families choose to live in a vehicle or stay in uninhabitable places. The families we meet are diverse in make-up, size, age, religion, and ethnicity.

What makes the Dorothy Day House different?

We welcome the whole family at the Dorothy Day House and we encourage the strengthening of family bonds during this time of trauma. Because we house several families at a time, our residents are able to offer mutual support and encouragement as they face and overcome the shared obstacles of poverty and houselessness. This home-like atmosphere provides a sense of security, especially for the children, fosters self-esteem, and uplifts the human spirit.

Is family houselessness common in Shelby County?

According to the Community Alliance for the Homeless, approximately 130 families sleep in shelters for people who are unhoused or uninhabitable places each night in Memphis. In addition, an unknown number of families experiencing houselessness are staying with relatives or at extended-stay motels. Per the 2021 Fact Sheet, Memphis has a poverty rate of 24.6% and a child poverty rate of 39.6%. These rates mean that Memphis is ranked number one in overall poverty for areas over a million people and number one nationally for the highest number of children living in poverty.

How does generational poverty impact families?

Generational poverty accounts for the houselessness experienced by many of our families. Generational poverty is typically defined as a family living in poverty for more than two generations. Although parents want to change life for themselves and their children, they have limited access to the emotional, spiritual, mental, and practical tools necessary to do so and experience many setbacks due to fractured systems. And most often, they do not have a support system that can help them move away from poverty.