Unhoused & Unheard Ep. 3: A Mother of 6 Navigated Homelessness — And the System That Almost Failed Her

"Your kids always tend to ask — what's next, mommy?"

Sharell Matthis said those words while working, while homeless, and while

raising six children with no safety net. This is her story.

In this final episode of Unhoused and Unheard: The Black Experience of

Homelessness, Sharell takes us through what it actually looks like to

navigate homelessness as a Black mother in America — eviction, motels,

sleeping in a vehicle, working a job across the street from where her

children slept, and finally: a key, a furnished unit, and four years of

stability she is now watching come under threat.

According to the HUD 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report, Black

Americans make up 12% of the U.S. population but account for nearly 32%

of everyone experiencing homelessness. Families with children are now the

fastest-growing group — up 39% in a single year.

Host Esther Dillard also sits down with Donald Whitehead, Executive

Director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, on what is driving

the surge in family homelessness — and what every one of us can do right

now.

📌 RESOURCES:

National Coalition for the Homeless → nationalhomeless.org

📲 FOLLOW ESTHER:

YouTube: @thecolorbetweenthelines

Instagram: @iamestherdillard

Facebook: iamestherdillard

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Produced by Esther Dillard | The Color Between the Lines

In partnership with BIN Audio | ALIVE Podcast Network

Expert: Donald Whitehead | National Coalition for the Homeless

#UnhousedAndUnheard #BlackHomelessness #HousingJustice

The Color Between The Lines with Esther Dillard