By The Case for Two Adults After a decade working to house homeless mothers and their children, I’ve come to realize that more affordable housing for single parents is a limited solution to family homelessness. By Mary Ellen Mitchell It’s 5ish on a Wednesday night and my young boys are taunting the smart speaker, much to the dismay of my teenage daughter. They all yell at each other to be quiet. Chaos is overtaking my kitchen, while I convalesce with the flu, safely hidden under the weighted blanket; my husband is at a zoning meeting that’s set to last well
Fellowship & Internship Opportunities with Lydia’s House
We’re Hiring! Lydia’s House is excited to open hiring for the second class of “Fellows” for our Dorothy Day Fellowship Program. The 2023-2025 applicants can choose from four positions, each with a unique focus: “Community Ministry” Fellow “Maternal and Family Health” Fellow “Non-Profit Leadership” Fellow “Early Childhood Education” Fellow Every position will include mentoring in the work of Lydia’s House and in the fight against family poverty and homelessness, and all positions share the work of maintaining and staffing the shelter. The positions will each have a duration of 24 months, include a living suite and a generous compensation package
Monica’s Story
My name is Monica and my daughter’s name is Olivia*. Our homelessness journey started well before becoming a part of Lydia’s House. In 2019 I decided to move back in with my family, specifically my grandparents, to get help with Olivia while I went back to school. In my head this was a great idea, but Lord knows I wasn’t expecting the whirlpool of changes ahead of us. My time with my grandparents ended pretty quickly. We did a lot of house-hopping over the next few years, as we moved from my grandparents’ house to a friend of mine’s house
For the love of women, upon the backbone of community
By: Jaime Misky I am certain that I am a very lucky human. To be here, the chances are incalculable. We possess this unique gift, this incredibly rare and truly slim chance of coexistence. How beautiful that is. How powerful, how utterly earth-shattering. It is groundbreaking to know one another and be in community as we are. It is a true honor, to know each of you and exist in your resilient, revolutionary energies. Four years of intentional community, rooted in love and authenticity, have intertwined my path with the lives of humans of Norwood, astounding beyond words. A
A backyard transformation…in progress
In July 2021, we purchased the vacant lot next to the Lydia’s House shelter. In doing so, we started a year long process of clearing out the empty lot and preparing to expand the backyard space behind the shelter. On the first of many Saturday morning yard days, the Bellarmine Youth Group came and helped us take out the chain link fence along the left side of the shelter. The Bellarmine Youth Group came four times, over the Summer/Fall of 2021, and made excellent progress preparing the yard, including, prepping the garage for a fresh coat of paint. During the