For Moriah, helping families experiencing homelessness starts with something simple: listening.
“I cannot count how many times I’ve had a mom or a dad cry to me and say, ‘Thank you for just listening to me and understanding,’” she says.
“It’s the ministry of the heart. It’s supporting people in the worst time in their lives and letting them know that they are worthy, they are needed and they matter.”
As part of the BEDS Plus Family Bridge team, Moriah works with families long before they move into a Family Bridge apartment. The work begins in shelter.
BEDS Plus is currently serving more than 15 families in motel-based shelter and has 22 scattered-site apartments for families.
For some, the next step is Family Bridge. Chris Hart, Manager of Family Bridge, explains that the program gives families more time and support as they work toward long-term housing. Families can live for up to two years in a BEDS-leased apartment while receiving ongoing case management.
Families can spend up to 90 days in BEDS Plus motel-based shelter. During that time, Moriah and the team get to know each family and dig deeper into what brought them to homelessness and what they need.
Housing is part of the answer, but often it is only one piece.
A parent may need identification or other documents before starting a job. A child may need a birth certificate or paperwork for school, help staying connected to their school district, or an IEP, 504 plan or early intervention services. Parents and children may also be dealing with medical needs, disabilities or mental health issues that haven’t been fully addressed. Families may be trying to manage childcare, employment, immigration issues or domestic violence.
Often, it isn’t just one thing. Families are dealing with multiple barriers at once, making it harder for a parent to work, care for their children and support their family.
The Family Bridge team works with each family to figure out what is going on and what they need. That can mean helping with paperwork, connecting them to medical or mental health services, advocating for a child at school, finding childcare or working on practical skills they will need when they are on their own.
For some families, years of instability have meant moving from one crisis to the next. Many also have little or no family support to turn to when something goes wrong.
Moriah spends a lot of her time focused on the children. She works with parents and schools to help children stay in school and get the educational and developmental services they need while their family is experiencing homelessness.
For some families, 90 days in shelter simply isn’t enough.
Families who need more time and support may move into a Family Bridge scattered-site apartment.
That extra time can make a big difference. A parent who has just started a job can begin earning steady income. A family can get childcare in place, address medical or mental health needs, save money and work toward permanent housing.
Moriah is also quick to point out that homelessness does not always look the way people expect.
“No one believes they’re going to be the homeless story,” she says.
She has worked with parents who had jobs and homes before an illness, death, disability, domestic violence or another crisis changed everything. Some families have lived in cars for years before entering shelter. Others are working while experiencing homelessness.
One misconception particularly bothers her: that people experiencing homelessness are lazy or simply haven’t tried hard enough.
“Because you’re homeless does not mean that you’re lazy,” Moriah says. “Unfortunately, life got in the way. You need a little more help removing your barriers.”
For Moriah, success isn’t simply seeing a family move out of shelter or into an apartment.
Success is not seeing them return to BEDS because they have become homeless again.
She thinks especially about what that can mean for children. Getting a child connected to early intervention, keeping them in school and making sure they receive the services they need can help interrupt generational poverty and homelessness.
For Moriah, it all comes back to her “ministry of the heart”: reminding people during one of the hardest times in their lives that they are worthy, they are needed and they matter.