While some students rest their heads on their dorm room pillow or across town in their home away from home and moms and dads tuck their kids in for bed, hundreds of Mississippians go to sleep without a roof over their head.
Local organizations like Doors of Hope are fighting against the growing homeless problem in north Mississippi.
Doors of Hope Transition Ministries help at-risk and homeless families with young children in Lafayette County by offering mentorship, life-skills training and supportive housing.
Doors of Hope opened in 2011, and since then, 16 families have completed their Self-Sufficiency Transitional Empowerment Program.
The STEPS program allows families to stay in rent-free apartments for up to six months, as long as they adhere to strict rules including paying off debts, working jobs and meeting with case manager Carrie Driskell several times a week. Three families are enrolled in the program now, and three other apartments stand furnished and waiting for needing families.
Driskell joined Doors of Hope in 2015. She attended the University of Mississippi, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in social work. She earned her master’s in social work from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas.
She said the organization has noticed a variety of causes leading to local homelessness.
“Now that we’re accustomed to seeing families who have more debt than income ratios, and finding work or affordable housing in Lafayette County, there is a severe lack of that,” Driskell said.
Driskell said there is simply too much student housing in Oxford and not nearly enough buildings that can provide the type of environment families with children need. She believes the Oxford community would benefit from a homeless shelter.
“Obviously, [people] can use Doors of Hope Transition Ministries; we only help families that have minor children,” Driskell said.
Outside of Doors of Hope, Driskell said homeless locals can turn to the Interfaith Compassion Ministry or the Salvation Army. She said Oxford has plenty of room for more awareness and education about what homelessness is across the county.
“People can start volunteering at a variety of agencies and calling them to see what type of populations that they work with, and donations can come in handy, not necessarily money, but they can donate their time,” she said.
Sophomore chemistry major Jay Vaughn said the number of homeless people living in Oxford is a silent problem that doesn’t get the press it deserves.
“Students, including me, and residents of this area tend to forget that many people don’t even have a place to sleep at night. I think there’s a lot of things that we as a community can do to reach out to these people and lift them up,” Vaughan said.
Driskell said the many problems homeless people face can be hard for them everyday.
“The homeless face no job, no place to stay, no active place to take a bath. Whatever you have on a daily basis, take that away, and that’s a homeless person,” Driskell said.
