DAYTON, Ohio — The goal of shelters across the state is to help families experiencing homelessness to get back up on their feet.

However, one shelter’s director has a mission that’s changing lives not only for the guests, but her own staff.

On a busy street is Xenia, Ohio, Family Promise of Greene County is a place of refuge.

“I like to try and get stuff done as early as possible,” said Feather Birdsong as she washed dishes.

Birdsong is the operations specialist for the 24-hour emergency shelter.

“With my position, I work with church coordinators to make sure that dinner is here every single night. We sit down, have meetings and try to figure out where we can place them during that time,” she said.

Birdsong also organizes crafts and activities for the kids, however, her journey with this shelter didn’t start with this current job.

“I actually came here in 2015, me and my two children. I was also pregnant. We moved into this building. We were homeless and I was not good with budgeting,” she said.

It was difficult to keep up with payments and run her home.

“I was a pretty good kid, I had absolutely excellent parents, I didn’t really have any issues and I just kind of slipped through the cracks,” Birdsong said.

Once she made it through the program, she made a promise to come back.

Four years later, she was working the night shift as a host until the new executive director gave her a promotion.

For two and a half years, Deanna McCrary has been the executive director and it’s made all the difference.

“You have to have children and reside in Greene County, Ohio,” McCrary said.

She’s a military spouse and mom of four. 

“I had a vision when I took this employment that I was going to make a program that was established based on the needs I wish I had when I was 17 years old with my first child,” McCrary said.

She turned the shelter into a place where families stay together, children can play and learn, and everyone can grow without judgement while accessing recourses.

“We have 10 bedrooms within the shelter and four bathrooms in total in the shelter for the guests,” McCrary said.

Twenty-eight people can stay at a time.

“When individuals come into our program, our goal is to make sure we do not recycle homelessness. We are with our families 24/7 in their journey to obtain housing,” she added.

Once families graduate from the program, they’re signed up for intensive case management.

If there are struggles with bills and food, Family Promise can step in again to help if budgets allow.

Within the past two and a half years, she’s helped nearly 350 people.

“Due to our intensive case management program that we have, our current success rate within our program is 100%,” she said.

Ninety-five percent of the staff, like Birdsong, have through the program or experienced past addictions.

It helps healing feel relatable.

“It’s OK to ask for help. It’s hard. It’s going to be hard, but the sooner you ask for help the sooner you can get the help you need,” Birdsong said.

For McCrary, the mission is never-ending and the need to help is always personal.

“I just want to be able to show women, little girls, who may have experienced what I have experienced that there is hope and pay it forward. Give back and do what you wish someone would have done to you at that moment and time in your life,” she said.