Her Path Home: Women and Homelessness | City Mission

When Crystal's sister wrote a letter to City Mission, she summed up her sister's journey in six words: "You loved her back to life."

Crystal came to City Mission needing far more than a place to sleep. What she found was a chance to rebuild her life and rediscover her faith. "This program gave me a chance to get back on my feet and work on myself," she said. "They truly do everything they can to make sure you will be able to succeed when you leave here."

Now Crystal hopes other women will find the same hope she did. "It's tremendous to watch the girls come in and to watch them grow and feel better about themselves and learn how to live without active addiction and without feeling like they're not enough," she said.

Her story is one of many. Across the country and here in Washington County, more women are searching for a safe place to begin again.

A Growing Need

Nationally, women make up 30 percent of individuals experiencing homelessness. And while overall homelessness dipped slightly in 2025, the number of individuals experiencing homelessness on their own reached the highest level ever recorded.

Behind every one of those numbers is a woman with a name, a history, and a future God is still writing.

Why Women Lose Their Homes

For many women, the road to homelessness begins with violence at home. But leaving that relationship is only the first hurdle. Abusers often destroy a woman's financial stability, leaving her with damaged credit, a broken rental history, and gaps in her work history that make it hard to find and afford a place to live.

She is finally free. But she has nowhere to go.

At City Mission, we see how many different paths lead women to our doors.

As our own Director of Development, Jim Johnston, has shared, some are escaping violence. Others are fighting addiction or mental illness, leaving incarceration, or finding their way out of human trafficking. Every woman's situation is different, so we begin by getting to know her and what she needs.

The Need Close to Home

In 2022, City Mission conducted a local needs assessment. Business owners, human services employees, and public officials all pointed to the same gap: our region urgently needed a new women's shelter.

City Mission stepped forward to meet that need. In January 2023, we launched an $8.3 million capital campaign. In September 2025, by God's grace and the generosity of our community, we opened the doors to Sally's Sanctuary, our new 54-bed women's shelter, designed with trauma-informed care in mind.

A Path, Not Just a Bed

A bed is where healing begins, but it's only the beginning. City Mission offers women a complete path from crisis to independent living.

Women seeking long-term shelter begin in our gateway dorm and complete an assessment. If eligible, they enter our long-term program. Single women move into Sally's Sanctuary. Mothers and their children move into our Women with Children's Shelter, where 12 suites and 36 beds give families comfort and privacy.

Through our Christ-centered Life Recovery Program, women find more than services. They find a Savior who never gives up on them. Each week includes counseling, case management, work readiness, financial classes, Bible studies, and career training. Our on-site Medical Clinic provides free preventive, primary, and urgent care, staffed by a dedicated nurse and volunteer physicians from our community.

When a woman is ready to work, she can use our Career Training & Education Center to find and keep meaningful employment. God has blessed this effort: in 2025 (fiscal year), the number of jobs our residents obtained rose 30%.

The final step before independent living is Sally's House, a 15-bed, next-step program. Here, women work while building the skills, confidence, and stability they need to thrive on their own.

Room for Mothers and Children

Many women come to us with children and caring for a mother means caring for her kids too. Sally's Sanctuary includes a large childcare center, so mothers can focus on recovery and work knowing their children are safe and loved.

Children also need room to simply be kids. In addition to our Scott & Diane Heeter Childcare Center on the first floor of Sally’s Sanctuary, we are also working, with support from The Martha Fund and Financial Fuel Services, to build a new playground on campus for children staying at the shelter. It will be a place of joy and normalcy during a very hard season of life.

Real Results

Women who stay with us at least 90 days are seeing lasting change. In 2025, 88% of women in our Women's Shelter moved into housing, and 79% succeeded in recovery. Among mothers with children, 90% found housing and 89% succeeded in recovery.

At Sally’s Sanctuary, during its first year in operation, served 159 women with a 78% overall success rate for those who stayed at least 90 days.

Ashley was one of the first residents to move into Sally’s Sanctuary after its doors opened a year ago.  This is what she had to say about her experience living there: “When I got to Sally’s Sanctuary, the building was just immaculate.  Living in it, you almost forget that you’re homeless.  You feel so safe and secure and comforted.  And it gives you the drive to want to help other women so much more.”

Our program is changing lives, and Sally’s Sanctuary has profoundly expanded the impact that City Mission is able have in the lives of women experiencing homelessness.  

Walk With Her

None of this happens alone. "Homelessness is a growing problem, and the only way to fight against it is for the whole community to stand together," said Walt Turner, former City Mission Board Member and Campaign Chair for Sally's Sanctuary.

Local businesses, churches, foundations, families, and individual donors made Sally's Sanctuary possible. That same partnership keeps its doors open every day. Whether you give, volunteer, or pray alongside us, you help a woman take her next step toward hope.

Give today to help a woman find her way home.