Sustainable Development Goal 1: No Poverty

The latest deadline for the federal eviction moratorium is June 30, and some sisters have been organizing fundraisers for rent and utility relief, hoping to help people chip away at their growing bills now.

Catholic sisters have been taking steps for decades to address homelessness and affordable housing issues around the world — and getting others to join them. As their grassroots efforts provide some temporary and long-range solutions, sisters who work at the U.N. vow to keep attention on the issues a year after a series of landmark meetings.

Who would dare think of the future when the present is marked with hunger, thirst, homelessness and a global pandemic? There seem to be more questions than answers, but we know that poverty lingers on.

Sr. Helen Amos has put the well-being of the community at the heart of her ministry. She has been a teacher, health care administrator, community leader and advocate for those experiencing homelessness.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Sr. Caroline Ngatia runs Kwetu Home of Peace, where homeless boys ages 8-14 are plucked from the streets and inducted into a process of reintegration.

More than 1.6 billion people worldwide live in substandard housing. Of those, at least 150 million have no home at all. In this special series, A Place to Call Home, Global Sisters Report is focusing on women religious helping people who are homeless or lack adequate shelter. This is the first part, an overview of the issue.