In 2019, President & CEO Lauryn Keahey lost her dad, mom, and two sisters in a tragic event. This experience, along with others from my adolescence, opened my eyes to the importance of community, communication, and service. Her parents' lives were the epitome of servanthood; they always emphasized the importance of using every opportunity to learn and teach others what you’ve discovered. Because of their vision, we are here today.

DHP GOALS & OBJECTIVES

Advocate: DHP advocates for survivors of mental, emotional and physical abuse. It is our goal to emphasize the impact of abuse, while acknowledging the multifaceted nature of familial abuse. We aim to amplify the voices of survivors through our service.

Challenge: Using a socio-historical perspective, DHP aims to challenge limited perceptions of familial dynamics, while creating a safe space that validates trauma. We aim to promote healthy healing through community engagement and active listening.

Educate: DHP strongly believes in the power of education and releasing one’s self from an oppressive pedagogy. It is our mission to educate on the significant role of social identities in our Western society, as well as challenge the norms and stereotypes associated with them.

A DEEPER LOOK INTO OUR CAUSE

We equip families with the resources and skills they need to do life after working through traumatic experiences. The ultimate goal of the Dreamhaus Project is to acknowledge and empower survivors of family violence. Our society is aware of how detrimental physical violence is, but DHP aims to emphasize the impactful role of emotional, financial, and mental abuse. Our culture needs to reimagine the nature of family structures and norms. The Dreamhaus Project serves families of all styles. We desire to amplify the voices of minority families; we are intentional about fortifying bridges between existing communities. The world is evolving; therefore, our definition and application of family must also develop.

​The Department of Justice describes family violence as emotional, financial, physical, and sexual abuse within the immediate family. Broad terms often lead to misunderstanding, which leads to misrepresentation. Our mission explores how immediate family is pictured in other cultures? What role do race and gender play in family structures? Which agents of socialization are at work? An intersectional lens, the ability to place multiple identities socially, is necessary when answering these questions; we hope to demonstrate the benefits such a perspective offers.

We offer college readiness assistance, specializing in application assistance and scholarship research. We operate a closet that provides clothing and hygiene items. In the future, we plan to launch a critical podcast that analyzes the social representation of families by class, race, and sexuality throughout media and film.

The Dreamhaus Project hopes to lead communities in discussion to enhance the tolerance for familial differences. If our thinking is not challenged, the next generation adopts toxic and stifled ideology; our pursuit explores how families thrive. DHP also desires to run transitional housing, where families can access a financial literacy program, job readiness courses, GED prep, and counseling. We also plan to house closets in local schools to ensure students and families have success throughout the year.