“Staying together... that’s the most important thing.”

- Jesse Summers

A Place to Call Home

Story by Angela Shoemaker

“It’s not at all like I thought it would be,” Rebecca Summers says, with a hint of relief in her voice.

Rebecca is staying with her husband, Jesse, and their five children at the Volunteers of America (VOA) Emergency Family Shelter in Louisville, Kentucky. After living in two small rooms at the shelter for three months, the family recently moved into one of the two temporary, apartment-style housing units adjacent to the shelter.

Patiently tending a hot stove loaded with meat, potatoes and macaroni and cheese, Rebecca remarks, “This is the first meal I’ve cooked for my family in over three months.” The apartment feels more like a home because they can cook their own meals and have their own living room and bathroom.

Before moving into the shelter the Summers family had been staying with Jesse’s niece, whose families combined led to more than 20 people living under one roof.

They are happy to have a place to call home while they save for their own apartment. Jesse explains, “It’s not ours… but at least we’re all together. That’s the main thing, keepin’ us all together.”

The Volunteers of America Family Emergency Shelter is the only shelter in Louisville that allows both parents to stay together.

“We’re just lucky we found the VOA,” says Jesse. The alternative would have been for him to move into the men’s shelter alone while Rebecca and the kids stayed at the women’s shelter. “I wouldn’t have wanted to be separated from them. I feel they’re a lot safer if I’m around.”

A year ago, the Summers came back to Jesse’s hometown of Louisville from Phoenix to help take care of his mother following the death of his father. A series of unfortunate circumstances prevented them from returning and the family lost everything they owned.

Jesse suffered a series of heart attacks and strokes and is no longer able to work. “I was a painter for 25 years and now they’re telling me I can’t do nothin’. I’ve always been able to work.”

Rebecca left behind her job as a licensed practical nurse and hasn’t been able to re-certify in Kentucky. She now works the night shift as a waitress but the poor economy has caused her earnings to drop. She averages $600 a month, which is not enough to care for a family of seven.

For nearly a generation, the face of homelessness in America has been that of a single man or woman living on the street and panhandling for loose change. Donna Trabue, Vice President of Homeless and Housing Services at Volunteers of America, says they are seeing a dramatic increase in the number of families calling for assistance.

Advocates for the homeless believe the foreclosure crises, failing economy and rising unemployment are causing more two-parent families to seek out assistance from local shelters.

Many of the newly homeless are members of families in which one or both parents lost a job or were low-wage workers living paycheck to paycheck before losing their jobs.

The demand for help far exceeds what the shelters can handle. Trabue says the VOA is only able to offer service to approximately 25% of the families seeking help.

The increase in the number of homeless families illustrates just how severe the economic crisis has become, affecting middle- and working-class households. Job loss and the worsening economy are pushing more people toward poverty.

Mary Frances Schafer, Director of Community Coordination at Coalition for the Homeless in Louisville, explains, “A single parent would have to make at least $12 an hour to afford a decent, safe apartment in Louisville.”

The current minimum wage is $6.50 an hour. National lawmakers are lobbying to raise it to $9.50 but this is still far less than what most people need.

As the middle-class struggles to find lower paying jobs after being laid off, they in turn limit the options for less educated and less skilled workers. Trabue says, “Whatever affects the middle-class pushes down or limits the options of those who are lower-class, economically.”

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that approximately 37 million American families are living in poverty. Kentucky has the 5th largest level of poverty in the nation.

The Louisville Courier-Journal reports that Kentucky ranks 12th in the nation for unemployment with a rate of 7.6%, the highest it has been in 20 years. The national average for unemployment was 5.8%, up from 4.6% in 2007.

Homeless advocates argue that if the minimum wage is not enough to allow families to afford housing then more subsidized housing must be made available. There are approximately 11,000 people applying for Section 8 housing in Louisville, which currently has a 4 to 5 year waiting list.

Meanwhile, Louisville’s shelters remain full and vacancies are rare, especially for those shelters serving families.

The Summers are grateful to be staying at the VOA shelter and are planning to save the money needed to move into their own home. Rebecca wants to earn the credits she needs to be a licensed practical nurse in Kentucky while Jesse wants to earn his GED with the hopes of getting another job.

“You can never give up,” Jesse says with Rebecca adding, “and you can never take anything for granted.”