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For the Dorothy Day House, serving Memphis’ homeless families is a divine calling

By , Daily Memphian Updated: April 19, 2026 4:00 AM CT | Published: April 19, 2026 4:00 AM CT

LaQuita Ross was frustrated.

For six months, she and her family had been living in an apartment for free because she’d been unemployed when they moved in and it was considered low-income housing.

But because she’d since gotten a job as a security guard, her landlord was now saying she would have to pay the market rate of $800 a month, and more than $3,000 for all the time she’d stayed there so far.

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Memphis homelessness nonprofits social services Subscriber Only

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John Klyce

John Klyce

John Klyce is an enterprise reporter with The Daily Memphian who writes a wide range of in-depth features, as well as profiles about local leaders, scientists, musicians, artists, entrepreneurs, and anyone else doing exciting and important work in this city. He previously spent four years with the Memphis Business Journal, where he covered public companies, startups, and innovation, and a fifth year with The Commercial Appeal, where he covered education, and chronicled how gun violence and poverty were affecting Memphis youth and their families. He has also been a fellow with the Institute for Citizens and Scholars. John has a B.A. in journalism from the University of Memphis and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Boston University.


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