Catholic Charities Father Ed Judy House (FEJH) was established in 2005 to help women with children who are homeless. Specifically, we were created to help families who had stabilized at emergency shelters, but ran out of time there before they found housing. Instead of moving their children from shelter to shelter, families can come to the FEJH and we will work with them for as long as it takes to find a stable place to live.

 

Increasingly, the women served at the FEJH are survivors of domestic violence who have found safety – but remain homeless. While providing a safe place to live, we also offer a targeted program that meets the residual needs of women who have suffered abuse, including a Survive and Thrive Group, counseling and empowerment-based parenting support.

Our ministry serves nine families at a time, up to thirty people total, by providing trauma-informed care, case management and other supportive services. This small, group-home environment allows us to individualize our program to work with families to find housing. We also stay connected and offer services to families after they leave shelter and move into their own apartment to help them transition back into the community. 

For mothers who are at least 18 years old, we provide 24-hour staffing, meals, a savings program, toiletries, baby supplies, children’s activities, and parenting support.  Most of our referrals come from emergency shelters, safe houses and community service providers.

We offer weekly education and support groups that cover a variety of topics including: job readiness skills, budgeting, what healthy relationships look like, the importance of playing with your children, rebuilding self-esteem, and landlord / tenant issues.

We also offer GED tutoring, a resume clinic, after school homework help for children, and we have a computer lab with internet access so that moms can look for jobs and housing online.

 

Families who graduate from our program can return for a monthly Women’s Support Circle. In an effort to provide continuity of care, they can continue to receive counseling from our domestic violence resource person in their new homes. Former residents are also invited to participate on our consumer board to help us continually improve our program.

 

Lastly, our ministry is sustained and enriched by community donations and volunteers. We rely on volunteers to provide child care during our evening groups, to provide homework help to children, to provide one on one GED tutoring, and many other important services. We also rely on community donations to help us supply things like toiletries, diapers, gift cards for cold remedies, bus tokens, mittens and many other needed items to our families. For a current list of our Volunteer Needs and donation Wish List, please visit our blog: http://fejh.wordpress.com

 

Referral Process:

Any community case manager or human services professional can refer a family to the Father Ed Judy House by calling us at (303) 866-7641.  This short phone referral is then followed by a phone intake with the prospective resident.

 

NOTE: We often have a waiting list. The need for our services surpasses our shelter space – however, we definitely want to help, so please call us as soon as you identify a potential resident.

* If you would like to refer a friend or family member, or if you would like more information about our program for yourself, please call us at (303) 866-7641 and we would be happy to talk with you.