Grace Place Ministry
How Transitional Housing Programs Help Single Mothers Break the Cycle of Housing Instability
Single mothers facing homelessness often carry the weight of their children’s futures on their shoulders, trapped in a relentless cycle of instability that no quick fix can mend. Grace Place in Hendersonville, TN, takes a different approach to traditional transitional housing programs, which focuses on long-term, relational support that provides stable homes, practical skills, and unwavering encouragement. This model empowers women to rebuild their lives and transition from a life of crisis into lasting independence.
The Reality of Housing Instability for Single Moms
For many single mothers, homelessness doesn’t strike suddenly; it’s the culmination of challenges like sudden job loss, escaping domestic violence, mounting medical debt, or eviction from unaffordable rentals. These women arrive at program doors exhausted, their daily routines shattered, unsure where the next meal or safe night’s sleep will come from. Children in these situations bear the brunt, missing school days, grappling with anxiety, and losing the structure that fosters healthy development.
Short-term shelters offer temporary beds but fail to equip these families with tools to prepare them for the future, leading many to face housing instability and homelessness within a few months. Grace Place programs address this by providing life skills programs that include extended stays of 3 to 18 months. This time allows families to rebuild routines and confidence.
Grace Place focuses on mothers committed to growth, offering private living spaces alongside shared community areas that promote accountability and belonging. This structured environment helps families “settle in and breathe deeply,” breaking isolation through weekly check-ins and mentorship. Founded by Desnéige Bourret on a simple conviction—no mother should choose between shelter and her children’s well-being. Here, mothers find more than a roof: they discover a place to reclaim their strength.
Why Long-Term Support Changes Everything
Unlike emergency aid, transitional programs like Grace Place prioritize holistic growth across employment, finances, transportation, and health. Mothers receive personalized family advocacy to set achievable goals, from securing driver’s licenses to pursuing livable-wage jobs with reliable childcare. Life skills classes cover budgeting, nutrition, parenting, and healing from trauma, while optional faith-guided activities instill hope rooted in compassion and purpose.
For children, this new stability is key to healing. Consistent routines and dedicated school time provide a vital sense of safety and normalcy, allowing them to focus on reaching milestones and restoring joy. This structured environment, coupled with enrichment opportunities, is the foundation they need for sustained success and emotional well-being after trauma.
A Step-by-Step Journey to Independence
Every family’s path at Grace Place is unique, yet follows a proven progression that builds momentum step by step. It starts with application and orientation: staff assess needs, review expectations, and ease the transition into this nurturing space. This phase creates trust, helping overwhelmed mothers feel seen and valued.
Next comes building stability by establishing routines, restoring calm amid past chaos, and crafting initial goals. Women settle into private spaces while bonding in community areas, where shared meals and gatherings break down isolation. From here, growth accelerates through skill-building: group classes in trauma healing, financial literacy, recovery programs, parenting, and character development. Weekly one-on-one meetings keep families accountable and celebrate small wins that compound into confidence.
The final stretch focuses on independence, securing employment, permanent housing pathways, and sustainable habits. Restoration and transformation unfold slowly, and this approach has yielded a 90% success rate, changing trajectories for entire families.
Stories of Restoration and Hope
Graduates often arrive broken, unsure where they’ll live or what their next meal will be, but leave feeling empowered. One mother shared arriving as a homeless parent with young children, only to emerge with stability, giving back to others. These transformations ripple outward, strengthening entire families and communities.
Mentorship pairs women with guides who walk alongside them, offering encouragement without judgment. Community outings bring a sense of belonging, while milestone celebrations honor progress, from a child’s first school achievement to a mom’s debt-free milestone. Volunteers and partners expand this network, proving that collaboration amplifies every effort. Also, the program’s faith foundation encourages but never mandates spiritual participation, fostering dignity, integrity, and restoration across physical, emotional, and mental health.
Core Elements That Make Transitional Housing Effective
Success hinges on wraparound care: stable housing as the foundation, paired with empowerment through education and relationships. Grace Place honors each woman’s strengths and celebrates progress in character development, financial planning, and healthy habits.
Mental health support, vital document assistance, and health screenings tackle barriers head-on. Community errands, groups, and celebrations combat isolation, while core values like excellence and relationship guide every interaction.
Overcoming Challenges for Lasting Impact
Demand exceeds capacity, with hundreds of families seeking help each year, forcing tough choices. Yet Grace Place persists through donor support and local ties, modeling how faith-based programs deliver high returns with relational depth. This model leverages volunteers for meals, mentorship, and events, maximizing reach without compromising quality.
Building a Brighter Future Together
Grace Place’s program proves single mothers need time, tools, and unwavering belief in their potential to break cycles of instability. Grace Place exemplifies this, turning crisis into thriving independence for women and children. For those seeking stability or help, our model offers a blueprint of hope, proving transformation happens one family, one relationship at a time.
Current Needs List
Updated: February 2026
We are so thankful for your continuous support in providing these items for our families.
Here is the latest list of items needed in the house:
Most Needed:
- Paper Towels (Bounty preferred)
- Toilet Paper (Charmin preferred)
- Laundry detergent (Tide or All Free and Clear preferred)
- Bleach
- Qtips
- Pullups 4T/5T boys and girls
- Pullups 5T/6T boys and girls
While not “necessities,” our families love to receive laundry beads, hair dryers, hair straighteners, curling irons and gift cards for make-up and fast food.
Also accepting the following:
- Fabuloso or Pine Sol
- Trash bags
- Bath Towels
- Wash cloths
- Febreeze room spray
- Febreeze Plug ins
- Dryer sheets
- Mop head replacements for O-Cedar spin mop
- Deodorant (Dove preferred)
- Women’s 5 blade razors
- Aluminum Foil
- Body Lotion and Face lotion
- Pull-ups and Diapers (Huggies or Pampers preferred)
- Shampoo and Conditioner (Dove preferred)
- Baby wipes
- Handsoap
- Adult, Children’s and Infant Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen
- Regular Tampons and pads
- Kleenex
- Lysol Disinfectant Spray
- Body wash and face wash
- Baby shampoo/body wash/lotion
- Fingernail/toenail clippers
- Toothpaste
- Sandwich bags
- Gallon bags
- Diaper rash ointment
- Dish soap
- Chip Clips
THANK YOU AGAIN!
Cel-e-brate Good Times, Come On!!
Have you heard? We have another amazing graduate of Grace Place!! This family will be moving out next month, and we need your help to make their new apartment beautiful!
Please check out the link, and let us know if you have any questions. The sign-up continues on multiple pages, so please click next at the bottom of each page to see it all. Thank you!!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B094FADAE29A1FC1-graduate11
We have a GRADUATE!!!
This graduation season, WE HAVE A GRADUATE!! One of our families has completed our program and is moving in to an apartment very soon! We would love your help making it perfect for them! Please check out the link below to help!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b094fadae29a1fc1-apartment1
May 2022
April showers brought May flowers for sure! And all sorts of beautiful plants growing, and the pollen that comes with them!
April also brought us the luncheon, which was a huge success!! How blessed are we to be in a community with so much love and support for the families we serve!
The list of items our families need is below, in order of need. We are always so grateful for your help providing these items for our families.
If you are able to donate any of these items, please call the office to set up a drop-off time. 615-881-3976
Needed Items:
Size 6 Diapers
Dreft Laundry
Bleach
Paper Towels
Bathroom Spray
Size 2 Diapers
Diapers 4T 5T Pull-ups
Toilet Paper
Lysol Household cleaner/Pine-sol or Fabuloso cleaner
Toilet Cleaner
Kleenex
Lysol wipes
Baby wipes
Hair Conditioner
Fabric sheets and fabric softener
Trash bags
Laundry Detergent
Hand soap
Body wash
He is Risen!!
Happy Easter!!
What an amazing time of year to celebrate our Risen King!! Social media is already full of children hunting colorful Easter eggs and Easter service announcements. Despite the soggy weather lately, spring is such a special time for new growth and a sense of a new beginning.
We are so thankful for the new beginning our families here get to start with this program. It brings such peace and hope for a better future. We are so blessed to be able to provide all of their needs while they are at Grace Place, but that is only with the help of you- our amazing donors!! The updated list of needs is below. If you are able to contribute, please call the office (615-881-3976) to set up a drop-off time. Thank you!!
Needs in order of need:
Lysol Disinfectant Spray
Bathroom Spray
Bleach
Size 1 Diapers
Size 6 Diapers
Size 4T-5T Pull-ups
Household Cleaner (lysol, fabuloso)
Toilet Paper
Paper Towels
Lysol Wipes
Baby Wipes
Fabric sheets
Trash Bags
Laundry Detergent
Kleenex
Hand Soap
Body Wash
Tampons
Long Pads w/wings
Infant care: shampoo/bodywash/lotion
Nail Clippers
Hair ties/Brushes
Face Wash
Spring has Sprung
We are so excited for Spring!! The kids are starting to be able to play outside. Birds are chirping, and the sun has been shining!
One of our darling babies arrived Monday, March 7. The other one is so close to his arrival as well. New life both figuratively and literally at Grace Place!
Thank you so much for your support as our families grow. The items needed most right now are listed below. If you would like to donate, please call the office at 615-881-3976 to set up a drop off time. As always, we are so very thankful for your support!
Diapers- Size 6
Pull-ups- Size 4T-5T
Bathroom Air Freshener
Baby Boy clothes: summer size 3-6 months and summer size 18-24 months
It’s a Boy!
Babies, Babies, Babies!
We are thrilled that in just a few days/weeks, we will have two baby boys joining our GP Family!! Many of you have so graciously helped shower these two moms with gifts they will need, but there are still items needed for each little darling. If you are able to purchase something off of the registries below, please call the office to schedule a drop off or you can have it shipped directly.
https://www.walmart.com/registry/BR/db4c3d8b-9da0-4c4c-9384-580a611656a9?page=6
https://www.walmart.com/registry/BR/6dce234f-a4b5-4eb9-b4b7-568ed70ca2c7
Thank you for being so faithful to our ministry and meeting the needs of our families. We are beyond blessed to continue to mission with you!
Current Needs:
Diapers size 1 and 6
Pull-ups size 4T
God is Love
February is the month of LOVE!
John 13:34 says “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
One way to love on our families at Grace Place is to donate to our household items needed. Currently, there are only a few things that we are running low on. Those are listed below.
Another great way to love our families is to provide a hot meal on their program nights. The meal train to sign up can be found at https://mealtrain.com/yloyde
We also have two Grace Place baby boys coming next month! We are so excited to love on these mamas as they welcome those little bundles into the GP Family. Please check out our Facebook page for the links to the registries if you would like to help shower them with baby needs.
We are so grateful for the love you continuously show Grace Place. We pray that you can feel the love of Jesus this month and always. Thank you so much for your support!!
Current Needs:
Diapers size 6
Pull-ups size 4T
New Year, New Beginnings!
Happy New Year!! As we begin 2022, we are so thankful for all of our donors who helped stock our household and hygiene supplies in December. There was such an outpouring of love and support, and we are grateful for those who not only donated but also prayed for us and with us at Grace Place. As our moms are working to grow in many aspects of their lives, you are working to support them and that brings an amazing feeling of hope.
Another way you can help serve the families at Grace Place is to provide a hot and ready meal for them on a Monday or Thursday night. On those nights, our families have programming they attend, and having a hot meal ready for them after work and school is so helpful in getting them fed and ready to experience all God has for them in their programs. If you would like to contribute in this way, please go to our Meal Train site and sign up. If you have any questions, please contact us at 615-881-3976 or email Lisa Jo at lisaa.graceplace@gmail.com.
For now, our needed items are listed here. If you are able to donate, please contact our office to set up a delivery time. Again, we are so thankful for all that you do to support Grace Place!
Diapers- Size 6
Pull-ups- Size 3-4T (girl)
Lysol Disinfectant Spray
Bathroom Air Freshener