Single mothers are at greater risk of becoming homeless compared to other families. In Reading, PA, Opportunity House provides assistance that will help these vulnerable families and anyone experiencing homelessness on the journey toward stable housing.
Housing Insecurity and the Single Mother
Mothers lead over 80% of single-parent households.
Considering the prevalence of single-mother families and the difficulty of finding affordable housing, you shouldn’t be surprised that these families are frequently overwhelmed by the amount of income consumed by housing costs
Single-parent families led by females are also more at risk for discrimination. Landlords may present obstacles to these families due to the family size and other factors. It’s challenging to find safe, stable, affordable housing for families of single mother households.
Childcare demands are yet another obstacle to stable housing faced by the single mother, especially when the children are younger than school age or mothers need to work more than one job to meet the household’s needs.
Mental illness, addiction, and generational poverty are other factors that put single mothers at a higher risk for homelessness.
How Opportunity House Helps
Opportunity House provides emergency shelter on a 24/7/365 basis. We welcome men, women, and families with children who are experiencing homelessness. At the emergency shelter, clients receive three meals and a snack each day, access to showers and laundry facilities, and shelter. Opportunity House serves an average of 500 clients per year.
We provide our clients with case management to identify obstacles to housing and help them overcome these challenges. Life skills, identification, mental health care, child care, and other services are all available to help homeless single mothers in their quest to rise above homelessness.
Ongoing housing support is also available to Opportunity House clients. We manage permanent housing units for our clients. The program helps during the transition from the emergency shelter and afterward. For single mothers, our program can be a vital solution for keeping families together safely and provides long-term stablity.
The Second Street Learning Center, also operated by Opportunity House, provides early childhood education for kids from 6 weeks to 13 years of age. This program is a Keystone 4 Star Learning Center, with about 200 participating children per year.
How Can You Help?
If you’d like to help families with single mothers, or other members of the homeless population, help Opportunity House.
We welcome donations of money, via check or credit card donations. Your gently used household items also help us generate profits to benefit single mothers and others facing homelessness.
Financial Donations – Click here for an easy online monetary donation, or you may send a check, participate in a fundraising event, or drop off the money at your convenience.
Item Donations – We take two categories of donations. We request new and unopened underwear, toiletries, laundry detergent, cold weather clothing, baby essentials, and bottled water for the emergency shelter.
The OppShop, our retail thrift store, accepts gently-used, clean clothing articles, household goods, seasonal items, furniture, jewelry, flat-screen TVs, media, purses and bags, shoes, and toys.
Time Donations – Prepare and serve a meal, serve on a committee for a fundraising event, gift a day of service, or help at the OppShop to aid in the mission of Opportunity House.
Opportunity House in Reading, PA, provides emergency housing for homeless single mothers and their children and others experiencing homelessness. Your help will be greatly appreciated.
