housing for families experiencing homelessness
Interfaith Hospitality House

The YWCA operates one of Alabama’s only permanent facilities serving two parent families experiencing homelessness in the state of Alabama. Through the Interfaith Hospitality House, located in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Birmingham, the YWCA offers shelter and supportive services for up to seven families at a time and the assistance needed to move them out of homelessness into housing.

What is this program like? Interfaith Hospitality House is a housing facility that provides furnished two-bedroom suites to families in housing crises and up to three meals a day. Residents share a community kitchen, dining room and living room with other residents in a comfortable facility staffed 24-hours a day. Each family is given responsibilities to share in the upkeep of the facility and must fulfill these duties in order to remain there.

Although the YWCA does not charge any rent, tenancy or fees in order to participate in the Interfaith program, it does expect a commitment on part of each family to work hard at stabilizing and move into permanent housing. To this end all residents are required to either attend school or be employed and all children must attend school as a condition of residency. Each family is provided with one-on-one case management and access to a range of critical family services including day-care, employment readiness skill-building and transportation assistance—all of which are geared toward equipping families for success in permanent housing. View Photos of Interfaith, including a typical bedroom suite.

How do I apply for this program? Families interested in assistance and shelter through the Interfaith Hospitality House must be homeless according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban development’s definition and must meet one of the following criteria:

• Two parent family with children
• Single father with a child/children
• Single mother with at least one son over the age of 10

If you believe you might qualify to live at the Interfaith Hospitality House, contact the YWCA’s Family Services Coordinator by email or call (205) 591-4302.

The Interfaith Hospitality House has moved to a new state-of-the-art facility just a few blocks away from the original location as part of the YWCA’s YWoodlawn initiative. Learn more about YWoodlawn and view our progress.