Dorothy Day House of
Hospitality
* Moronke Oluwatoyin joins us today to share information about a special NGO that offers aide to the homeless. She invites you to check out her site for international tutors @
http://susxtutors.co ** Blog owner note: I had to edit this article somewhat due to grammar corrections, as such some of the sentences are a bit different from the original submission.
NGO domains
which stands for non-governmental organization are entities usually nonprofit
which work independently. The city of Memphis is among the top three cities in
America in terms of homeless citizens. Over two thousand men, women and
children are considered to be homeless, this is a realistic figure.
Homeless people looking for shelter find themselves in
such situation for a variety of reasons. The underlying reason could probably
be caused by loss of job, a serious illness, a lack of marketable job skills, a
house that probably got burned or repossessed, poverty and despair.
Numerous organizations are making a difference for homeless people - one of these outstanding non-profit
organizations can be found in Memphis (US) is known as the Dorothy Day House of Hospitality (DDH). This is a completely volunteer - based
organization serving the poor and the homeless at the point of their critical
need. It is the only shelter in Memphis that allows families to
stay together. It is an updated approach to poverty and homelessness. Their
mission provides food, temporary shelter and clothing to the homeless families.
Their professional volunteers and staffs work to get the homeless back on their
feet after they have returned to their permanent housing.
This
hospitality home was founded by catholic workers, Dorothy Day (1897 - 1980) and
Peter Maurin in the early 1930's. It was both inspired by their vision and
passion to stabilize the homeless families with the necessities of food,
clothing and safe shelter. Through her hospitality ministry, she was able to
identify the root cause and conditions of homelessness of individual family.
Dorothy Day described herself as a ''woman who must think in terms of the
family, the need of the child to have both mother and father who believes
strongly that the home is the unit of the society.''
The DDH
has been able
to break the cycle of poverty for homeless families, create hopeful future for
their children and most importantly make families stay together. Through
monetary and in-kind donations from private donors and charitable
organizations, they provide educational resources
and guidance, parenting skills, employment counseling, referrals for child
care, advocacy, access to sources of permanent housing and new personal
relationships which provide a system of healthy support and encouragement for
homeless families.
What makes
DDH
a unique NGO in Memphis Tennessee? In most
shelter homes in Memphis, husband, wife and older children are not accepted in
their hospitality centers as a family because they accommodate only residents
of single sex. This implies that mothers cannot stay with their older sons,
husband and wife are separated, fathers cannot stay with their daughters. Most
families prefer to stay in their families to avoid separation. However, at
Dorothy Day House of Hospitality, this dilemma is addressed.
According to
Sr. Maureen Griner, Executive Director at DDH
during their Lipscomb & Pitts
Breakfast Club Radio show, ''the DDH
keeps homeless families
together, creating a safe haven and a community for entire families.'' They
keep this homeless families and help them stay together while homeless. They
rebuild their lives after the trauma of losing their home. With these families
placed together in the Dorothy Day House of Hospitality, parents are able to
focus on the positive changes that are needed to re-gain their independence.
Sister Maureen, a catholic sister in DDH
, confirms
that, '' there are limited options for families that want to stay together. One
shelter host adult males, all shelter hosts women. This means during toughest
times, husbands and wives are separated.''
The next
question is, how do they achieve their goals and mission statement? First, achievable goals are set with each family -
this is done continuously. Once they have accomplished the task of placing a
family in their permanent home, it does not end there. A follow up goes on, DDH
continues to work with the family to make sure that any underlying issue does
not re-surface to threaten their new found independence. Dory Yager Thomas who
is married to Stanley Thomas in Memphis Tennessee says, '' DDH
is
certainly a wonderful place. They took my son and I in an helped me back on my
feet. I thank them for all their help.''
Their
network of volunteer professionals bring all available resources to bear the
burden and lessen any core issues. DDH
also work
in conjunction with local agencies, staff members and volunteers who provide
families in need with a safe environment and the means to re-establish their
independence. According to Amanda Smith, ''DDH
is a blessing to
many and I was glad to be a part of the blessing.''
Although,
DDH
is a non - governmental organization, it
cannot cope with the large numbers of homeless citizens in Memphis Tennessee.
The center has been a source of hope for many families by bringing them
together as one entity. It was rated
a five star hospitality home by homeless families who have regained their
independence and home. Additionally, it has achieved significant progress towards sheltering
homeless people and made much more progress toward its local goals and mission
of welcoming any family without discrimination.
Award-winning authors Dave & Lillian Brummet:
Visit us on:
http://BrummetMedia.ca (new site, under maintenance)
Comments
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comment!
http://www.twitter.com/brummet
http://www.facebook.com/lillian.brummet
http://www.linkedin.com/in/ldbrummet