House of Hagar
Wheeling, WV (pop: ~25K)
Catholic Worker house
Not a non-profit, legally just a residence
Founded by Kate Marshall and her home
Houses a few people at a time - stay for a few weeks, months, or years
Weekly community meal that serves dozens of people
Catholic Workers & hospitality houses
Dorothy Day
- Catholic social teaching
- building up the new society within the shell of the old
- houses should not be non-profits
- decentralization
- personalism
The Mother Jones House -> The MoJo
Mother Jones House was an intentional community for local Catholic university students
HoHShare bought the building on land contract from Catholic Charities
Now the Mother Jones Center for Resilient Community (The MoJo)
right down the street from HoH and students were very involved in early days
shut down by the university in 2019
HoHShare is independent nonprofit
Innovations
The FunRaiser
Toilets and shower trailer during COVID
Difficulties
Neighbors and Gentrification
The city / health department
- Meals are held only at HoH (private residence) not the MoJo (nonprofit)
- Using/citing "RLUIPA" - "RLUIPA prohibits zoning and landmarking laws that substantially burden the religious exercise of churches or other religious assemblies or institutions"
- Avoiding gatherings on the front porch
Goals
Unhoused neighbors having more power and agency
More consistent space and time for discussions - regular roundtables
A lot of organizing at the house has been initiated by housed volunteers, not unhoused people
Lately unhoused people have been the ones bringing issues to volunteers and suggesting actions and solutions more
Want to partner with local groups that don't have any space for programs
Current HoH volunteers have no bandwidth for a constistent program