How Dorothy Day House is Changing the Face of Houselessness in Memphis
Memphis seems like a small big city when you get to know it. Even with a population of over one million people when you take into consideration our sprawling suburbs, folks in Memphis are good at getting to know one another and becoming interconnected personally and professionally. Before long, it’s not too hard to create a community within the city. Our Southern hospitality and proclivity to hard work keep us warm but humble. We want to visit, we want to help, and we love to lend support.
Memphians In Crisis
But for a great portion of Memphians, that support system may be too fragile to withstand any kind of crisis. The challenges of generational poverty threaten many of our citizens with food insecurity and potential houselessness* day in and day out. Our statistics are stunning…nearly a quarter of Memphians experience poverty and over 30% of our children live in poverty. For any family living paycheck to paycheck, one major home repair, a car accident, or medical emergency could mean stepping onto the brink of poverty and losing everything they have. This means that even with extended family and friends, families in generational poverty (typically two generations or more) may not be able to steady themselves enough financially or mentally to step out of the dark pit they find themselves in. Shelters in the city typically house men and women separately, meaning families get torn apart when they become unhoused, and shelter stays can be stressful and very temporary. The difficulties pile up. Depression and mental dysregulation sets in and despair begins to corrode the fabric of the family.
Hope and a Home
In 2006, Dorothy Day House was founded by a small group of Memphians to provide a solution for families facing houselessness in the Mid-south. The idea was to have an actual home where families could live, settle, and get back on their feet rather than offering another institutional environment that felt cold and sterile. Dororthy Day House was the first home remodeled for the effort, followed by Loretta House and then Joseph House in 2019. The homes were typically in terrible disrepair before being remodeled by Dorothy Day House, and their reconstruction is indicative of what the ministry hopes to be for hundreds of local families. By moving into one of the Dororthy Day Houses, struggling Memphians can take a deep breath (families usually stay between 3 - 6 months), take advantage of the counseling services offered by the ministry, get help finding a permanent job, and even gain access to stable housing. Because personal responsibility is valued as a core tenet of the organization, teaching the family how to progress in their financial, mental, educational and emotional security is the heartbeat of what Dorothy Day House does. Career counseling and resume writing go hand in hand with a free home, meals, and even warm clothing for the family. A real home provides a stable, loving environment that keeps families bonded and is particularly restorative for younger children's self-esteem.
The Dorothy Day House is truly a gem in the city of Memphis. In a place where poverty and generational difficulty can so often stunt a families’ growth and security, Dorothy Day House stands as a beacon of light, support, and grace.
*Houselessness is the preferred term for the ministry. Home is a sense of a place and for so many families facing houselessness, they feel a sense of home in their community. Houselessness, on the other hand, is a temporary issue and one that can be solved, thanks to the love and generosity of Dorothy Day House and so many organizations like it.
