About Karen House

Karen House, founded in 1977, is a Catholic Worker house of hospitality for homeless women and children in north St. Louis.  We offer short-term shelter for 13 homeless women and their children.  If you are in need of shelter, food or clothing, click here for more info. 

We promote the Catholic Worker vision of Peter Maurin and Dorothy Day which includes both providing hospitality, and resisting oppression and injustice.  We live in a neighborhood that has supported many diverse Catholic Worker projects and houses. Read about them here!

Karen House is run completely by volunteer labor, with donations from people in the St. Louis community. Donations of sandwiches, clothes, money, food, and everything else under the sun keep Karen House running.

A community of about ten people is responsible for the day-to-day work at Karen House. Some of these community members live in the house, some live in the surrounding neighborhood. We share a belief in the Catholic Worker tenets and a passion for the hospitality that Karen House provides.

At Karen House volunteers, guests, and community members alike find a place where, in the words of Peter Maurin “it is easier to be good.”

Check out our new vision statement here!

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Resources from the Karen House Community (reflections on community, personalism, simple living, social justice exercises, reflections for service trips, and even a few songs!)

 

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Get Involved (explore the myriad of ways you can get involved at Karen House!)

 

 

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History of Karen House (Learn about the history of the St. Louis Catholic Worker, hear from past community members about how KH has changed their lives, and more!)

 

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The Round Table (War and Nonviolence…Simple Living… Poverty and Personalism…peruse 35+ years of insightful and inspiration writing from our journal, the Round Table!