Who We Are

 

Lucy’s Hearth is a 24-hour emergency and transitional shelter for mothers and their children who are homeless due to economic hardship, family crisis, divorce, eviction, and severe shortage of safe, affordable housing. The primary goal is to foster independence and help the residents gain the life skills necessary to prevent future chronic homelessness.

Families may stay at the shelter until they are able to find permanent housing as long as they follow the rules, are actively seeking housing, and taking part in the programs and services.  The average stay is eight months, although many have stayed as long as a year.

Lucy’s Hearth rents the former convent on the grounds of St. Lucy’s Church.  Nine families can be sheltered at one time, with each family in a separate bedroom.  There is a living room, dining room, large kitchen, library, playroom, and a meeting room for classes, workshops, and special events.  The pleasant, fenced-in backyard provides a safe play area for the children.  The Hearth now has three Transitional apartments for families and provides Outreach to former residents.

History

Lucy’s Hearth was incorporated in 1984 and opened its doors as an overnight shelter with one staff person, a budget of only $20,000, and a dedicated group of volunteers.  As the need for shelter increased and more funding became available, the Hearth became a 24-hour shelter and has expanded programs and services to address the many issues faced by homeless women with children.  There are now four full-time and four part-time employees as well as two summer staff.  We contract with a professional counselor, a GED teacher, and a Parenting teacher.

From 1987-2004, we have sheltered 3,517 mothers and children for a total of 127,083 bednights of shelter.  375,418 meals have been served.

Bednights are the number of people in the shelter each night.  Bednights are a more accurate way to count shelter, as the average stay for a family is now 10 months and numbers served do not give an accurate picture.  Our bednights are among the highest in the state for women’s shelters.

From 2003 to 2004 we sheltered 74 mothers and 206 children for a total of 21,338 bednights of shelter.  This was an increase of 4,847 over 2001-2002.  We served 44,646 meals.

Homelessness is at crisis levels in Rhode Island due to severe shortage of affordable housing.  The average price for a two-bedroom market value apartment on Aquidneck Island is $1000 per month.  A mother with two children on welfare gets $554 per month.  Though there is public housing in our area, the waiting lists are very long and it can take several years before housing is available. It can also be a long wait for Section 8 subsidized housing.  The need for safe and supportive shelter for mothers and children increases each year, and our resources are limited.