As rent, groceries, and gas prices continue to climb across southwest Missouri, more working families are finding themselves one unexpected bill away from homelessness. Few stories illustrate this new reality more clearly than Lena’s.
For years, Lena and her husband worked steadily and kept their family of seven afloat. But as inflation surged, their rent increased faster than their paychecks. When it became impossible to keep up, their landlord allowed them to break their lease without penalty—a gesture that spared them an eviction but left them suddenly without a home.
To shield their five children from instability, Lena and her husband made the heartbreaking choice to send them to stay with relatives while they searched for a fresh start. They moved to Springfield, believing its larger job market would give them a chance to rebuild. They were right. Within days, both secured employment. But finding stable work was only part of the battle.
With no savings left after the move, Lena’s husband slept in their car while Lena stayed at Safe to Sleep, the region’s only low-barrier women’s overnight shelter. By day, the couple worked multiple shifts—sometimes two jobs each—saving what little they could while trying to pay down debt. Night after night, they pored over listings, searching for an affordable apartment large enough for seven people.
They finally found one, but the upfront costs—rental deposits, utility deposits, and first month’s rent—would drain every dollar they had scraped together. They could sign the lease, but they would have nothing left for food, dishes, beds, or basic household necessities.
For many working families, this is now the reality: they are employed, they are trying, they are doing everything right—and still, one crisis can push them over the edge.
Community support made it possible for Lena’s family to take the final step. Safe to Sleep provided the first month’s rent, allowing the family to move into their new home. After nine long months separated by circumstance, Lena, her husband, and their five children were reunited—just in time for Thanksgiving.
CCO teammembers say stories like Lena’s are no longer the exception.
“The women we’re seeing today aren’t who people traditionally imagine when they think of homelessness,” said Jamie Martin, director of Community Engagement for Crosslines Community Outreach. “They’re working. They’re responsible. They’ve never been homeless before. But rising costs knocked them off a cliff.”
Martin says Safe to Sleep increasingly sees women in their 50s and 60s—many on fixed incomes, many single, many suddenly priced out of the rental market. Others are like Lena: hard-working mothers pushed into crisis by inflation, housing scarcity, and wages that have not kept pace with living costs.
“Crosslines is like a mall,” Martin added. “When someone shows up needing one thing – food, shelter, clothing, or help with utilities – they can walk through a single door and find access a whole lot more. Most importantly, if we don’t have what they need, we can connect them to someone who does. SW Missouri is blessed with a significant network of resources.”
As the cost of living continues to rise, Lena’s story reflects a growing truth: today’s homeless families often look a lot like yesterday’s families living just down the street — people working multiple jobs, caring for children, trying to stay housed, and doing everything they can to remain stable in an increasingly unstable economy.
For a list of community resources or ways to help families like Lena’s, visit Crosslines.org.