At its three shelter facilities for women and their children on Grant Street and a multi-apartment facility on Avon Avenue for larger families, The Apostles’ House can provide accommodations for 170 people. On any given night, most of those 170 beds are occupied. The average stay of a guest at TAH is between three and six months. When one family leaves TAH, another will soon move in. Over the past 12 months, 165 women, children, and fathers sought shelter at TAH. 

How is it that all of these people found themselves homeless? 

According to TAH executive director Nadege Duvernay, the primary reasons why families find themselves without a home are lack of affordable housing, recovery from domestic abuse, and mental health issues. It has been the mission of TAH to address each of these situations and to help families develop stable, independent lives.

The lack of affordable housing has lately become the top cause of homelessness. “With rising rent costs and low wages, it has been extremely difficult for families to find safe, affordable housing in Newark,” said Ms. Duvernay. A one-bedroom apartment with rent starting at $1800 per month might not be in the best neighborhood, and apartments in these neighborhoods are often not well maintained. Often, families share spaces and are forced to live in overcrowded conditions. Eventually, seeking shelter becomes the safest alternative. 

TAH assists all clients in seeking housing options that will work for them. Those options can include Section 8 low incoming housing or disability housing. Working families are helped to find housing through traditional sources. “In addition, all of our families are taught how to develop and stick to a budget that will help them face the challenges of finding and maintaining the costs of an affordable home,” said Ms. Duvernay.

Escaping and recovering from domestic violence is another top reason that women and their children seek shelter. “If the abusive partner was the provider, his absence puts a huge gap in a family’s finances and stability,” said Ms. Duvernay. “These women and their children have faced abuse, and even if the partner is no longer in the picture, the trauma remains and continues to disrupt their lives.” 

TAH is not a domestic violence shelter. Families suffering active abuse or attempting to escape an abuser require a higher level of care and security in a specialized shelter.

In other cases, mental health issues have disrupted the lives of some women who find themselves homeless. “Many women who deal with depression or anxiety find it difficult to find a stable job or to go back to school,” Ms. Duvernay said. “Their illness keeps them from moving forward.” Often, these clients have not received diagnoses or medication. TAH will refer them to health professionals for screening and care.

Women recovering from domestic abuse or facing mental health issues can benefit from TAH’s partnership with Dr. Brittany from Building Blocks of Hope. Dr. Brittany provides group therapy and private, individual therapy for mothers and children. “Rather than make it necessary for our clients to seek outside therapy, we make it possible for them to receive health professional services in-house,” Ms. Duvernay said. 

TAH also partners with agencies such as Rutgers Health, through which clients can receive health screenings, medications, and referrals. In addition, all women guests at TAH may apply to “Be The Key,” a no-cost training program that provides essential job skills and boosts confidence for seeking employment. Accepted applicants first attend an eight-week women empowerment program provided by Beta Alpha Omega Chapter, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, and then move on to job training in one of seven certificated fields – child development associate, nursing assistant, home health aide, security officer, cosmetologist, EKG technician, or phlebotomy technician. 

“Our Be the Key graduates are armed with confidence and employable skills to help them succeed in the job market and move on to independent living,” Ms. Duvernay said. The reasons for homelessness are varied. But TAH’s mission for the past 40 years has been to offer safety and stability to the unhoused, identify and help alter the issues that have brought a family to homelessness, and offer the encouragement and hope for them to lead stable, independent lives.