When homeless women find themselves with nowhere else to go, Sue’s Home is a place where they can rest their heads at night and work toward an independent future.
Sue’s Home, owned and operated by non-profit Community Care Network, is a faith-based, long-term residential program for homeless women and their children. Diane Easley, the founder and executive director of Community Care network and Sue’s Home, said that many of the women at the home are trying to rebuild their lives after graduating from a drug rehabilitation program or being released from prison. Simply going home may not be an option.
Still, some women find themselves homeless after a job loss or the death of a spouse who was the sole breadwinner. An apartment manager may refer a woman to the home when too many missed rent payments means an eviction is on the horizon. “We’ve got a good economy right now, but people get terminated, or things happen in their personal life,” Easley said.
Sue’s Home offers women more than just a warm bed, though. Residents take classes in life and work readiness skills, religious studies, budgeting, and parenting. The women take classes to earn a GED, if necessary, and apply for jobs, all with the goal of becoming independent.
One of the non-profit’s major fundraisers is the annual gift card drive in December, Easley said. Throughout the year, gift cards allow residents to learn how to shop responsibly for personal items or a child’s birthday presents, Easley said. With the holidays coming up, the gift cards also empower the women to pick out their children’s Christmas presents, so they don’t have to sit passively on the sidelines while their children open gifts picked out by strangers. “We’re trying to build a family bond, and this is one way to do it,” Easley said.
Along with gift cards, Sue’s Home is always in need of mentors to help the residents meet their goals and volunteers to do yard work or transport the women or children back and forth to work, school, or other appointments. “We’re going to help somebody right where they are, and then help them walk through to become the person they want to be,” Easley said.
For more information about Sue’s Home, or to make a donation, visit https://www.ccnms.org/sues-home/
