KarunaNews Story

Jocelyn Roe was 17 when she started working with mothers in need. Now 20, she is a peer support specialist who assists with housing at the Rooted in Grace Foundation, which operates a network of “houses” across Phoenix for mothers facing instability due to addiction, mental health, homelessness and domestic violence. The furnished apartments include in-unit washer and dryer, a kitchen, a living room and a bedroom, with a communal courtyard stocked with children’s toys and playthings. Between 2023 and 2025, the Foundation developed, opened and operated five locations, supporting 73 women and their children, but lost part of its funding earlier this year after significant cuts to AmeriCorps, a federal agency that supports many local, state and national programs. Now, only two of the Foundation’s five original facilities remain. But, the care continues — to the extent that it can. For many at Rooted in Grace Foundation, the work circles back to the children and how to create a foundation that gives mothers ground to stand on. The care trickles down — from the program, to the mothers, to the children.