A lifetime of serving the homeless
A way to teach children about caring for those in needOver the past 40 years, Mary House has grown to house more than 50 families at a time, primarily serving the low-income Latino population of Washington, DC. 
Bill Murphy, along with his wife Sharon, started Mary House out of their own home in 1981 in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington, DC. Their goal was to take in one homeless family at a time to live with them and their small children.
They wanted to teach their children on a very personal level about the importance of caring for those in need.
They also wanted to live their commitment to serving the homeless, which started for Bill in 1973 when he was a senior at The College of the Holy Cross and for Sharon growing up poor in Detroit.
As a student, Bill was trying to find help for a homeless man living on the streets of Worcester, MA. Through this experience, he learned about a need he hadn't known about as well as how few people wanted to help homeless people.
He put off going to graduate school, instead traveling to Washington to become a full time live-in volunteer at Zacchaeus Hospitality House for single men and women, which he did for eight years. That’s where he met Sharon, also a volunteer, and after they were married and had their first child, they decided to create Mary House to serve homeless families.
Over the past 40 years, Mary House has grown to house more than 50 families at a time with support services. It provides housing and other services to meet the social and economic needs of homeless families, working primarily with the low-income Latino population of Washington, DC.
Mary House has no salaried staff. Instead, the five full-time staff – including Bill and Sharon Murphy – receive room, board, health insurance and a nominal monthly stipend.
View the charity page:
Bill Murphy, along with his wife Sharon, started Mary House out of their own home in 1981 in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington, DC. Their goal was to take in one homeless family at a time to live with them and their small children.
They wanted to teach their children on a very personal level about the importance of caring for those in need.
They also wanted to live their commitment to serving the homeless, which started for Bill in 1973 when he was a senior at The College of the Holy Cross and for Sharon growing up poor in Detroit.
As a student, Bill was trying to find help for a homeless man living on the streets of Worcester, MA. Through this experience, he learned about a need he hadn't known about as well as how few people wanted to help homeless people.
He put off going to graduate school, instead traveling to Washington to become a full time live-in volunteer at Zacchaeus Hospitality House for single men and women, which he did for eight years. That’s where he met Sharon, also a volunteer, and after they were married and had their first child, they decided to create Mary House to serve homeless families.
Over the past 40 years, Mary House has grown to house more than 50 families at a time with support services. It provides housing and other services to meet the social and economic needs of homeless families, working primarily with the low-income Latino population of Washington, DC.
Mary House has no salaried staff. Instead, the five full-time staff – including Bill and Sharon Murphy – receive room, board, health insurance and a nominal monthly stipend.
View the charity page: