Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Moorefield.
Hi Ashley, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My name is Ashley Moorefield. I am the founder and CEO of Serenity Living Transitional Home (SLTH). SLTH is a nonprofit organization located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We offer housing to young ladies ages 18-23 who are suffering from homelessness, aging out of foster care, or need immediate housing. SLTH not only provided these young ladies housing for an entire year, but we also provide them with life skills, money management, workforce readiness, and on-the-road drivers classes. I am the second to the oldest of 8 children. I grew up in a home that had a significant amount of love and some troubling moments. My mother would pray with us, sing gospel songs throughout the house, and was a huge advocate for education, spirituality, and family. She and I are still extremely close. But there were times during my childhood where she struggled with drug addiction. My father, who also battled addiction, was not active in my life long past the age of three and took residency in another state. Although I never wanted to be legally or permanently removed from my mother’s care, there were times in my life where I wished there were more housing resources available to me.
There was nothing for the teen on the cuffs of adulthood, needed supportive housing, but hadn’t committed any legal infractions. I was an honor roll student who volunteered at the YMCA and needed support myself. Social service programs treated me like I had not done enough “wrong” for them to help me. Therefore, I ended up living with my boyfriend at seventeen years old. I worked a part-time job while finishing my senior year of high school. I eventually graduated from The Pittsburgh High School for Creative and Performing Arts and then Point Park University.
My then-boyfriend is now my husband. My mother (who has been drug-free for over thirteen years) is my closest confidant.
However, I understood my happy ending was not always the norm. Therefore, I wanted to provide a safe place for young women to live and thrive. The only problem was, I had no funders and no house to fulfill this extensive mission. This prompted me to go to my husband and present the extreme idea that we give up our home, live with a friend for a while, and open SLTH in our family home. He agreed! We went on to sacrifice the only home our children had ever known so I could open SLTH. My husband, Shawn Moorefield, totally got behind my dream and vision. Within two months, The Moorefield family of four was living with a friend and self-funding SLTH as it operated in what was previously our family home.
Has it been a smooth road? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road to opening and operating Serenity Living Transitional Home(SLTH) has not been easy. After moving out of my home to donate the space to SLTH, I spent the first two years working a full-time job at another social services agency while also volunteering full-time at SLTH. My “day job” was funding my program and contributing to my family bills as SLTH could not pay me a salary yet. It sounds crazy, but I was literally a volunteer CEO.
We had a family plan to live with my friend for one year while renovating a home given to us by my mother. This home needed over $60,000 worth of work as it needed a complete renovation.
My husband and I were halfway through the renovation when my friend had to move abruptly. And just like that, the family working to prevent homelessness was now facing homelessness. We could have closed our program and used the money we were using to fund SLTH to renovate our own home. But, there was no way I was going to displace the young ladies at SLTH as they had just survived homelessness.
So, we moved into our half renovated home. We lived on the second floor of our house with no kitchen, living room, or dining room. When Habitat for humanity learned of our work and our emergency housing renovation needs, understanding that we were trying to keep SLTH open while also renovating our home, they wanted to help. At this time, Habitat for Humanity partnered with Cornerstone church and assisted us with renovating the first floor of our house.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road to opening and operating Serenity Living Transitional Home(SLTH) has not been easy. After moving out of our home to donate the space to SLTH, I spent the first two years working a full-time job at another social services agency while also volunteering full-time at SLTH. My “day job” was funding my program and contributing to my family bills. I had no outside funders and SLTH could not pay me a salary yet. It sounds crazy, but I was literally a volunteer CEO.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I could have done without the heavy traffic in Dallas. But the high levels of hospitality in most Dallas establishments really made up for the experience on the road. My visit was wonderful.
How to Donate:
- $100 donation
- $500 Bronze Sponsor
- $1500 Silver Sponsor
- $3000 Gold Sponsor
- $5000 Platnium Sponsor
Contact Info:
- Email: services@slth.org
- Website: www.slth.org
- Instagram: @slthprograms
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheSerenityHouse
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVrzPsUcEHyPROj18OHVIkg
Image Credits:
Four Reel Media
Montina Design
