ABOUT US

Our History

In November of 2009 a tiny congregation, Colonial Cumberland Presbyterian Church, answered God’s call to welcome strangers into the warm, safe sanctuary of a building that was underused during the winter. Four guests shared dinner and fellowship that first night with members of the church. This small group of people felt that this would be a good outreach “project.” Room in the Inn is no longer an outreach project; it has become a way of life and ministry for more than 50 congregations, and that number continues to grow. Memphis has many, many more of those empty, warm houses of worship that could become sanctuaries of holy hospitality. Our hope is that by opening more and more of them we can prevent people from sleeping outside on the coldest nights of the year. Father Charles Strobel, founder of Room in the Inn (Nashville) describes the RITI experience this way,

“When someone experiences hospitality and safety and a feeling of belonging, they experience sanctuary. Sanctuary is defined by the people, not the space. Everyone can become an expression of sanctuary. Ultimately, sanctuary offers one an experience of something sacred, something holy.”

Room in the Inn is no longer an outreach project; it has become a way of life and ministry for dozens of congregations, and that number continues to grow. Memphis has many, many more of those empty, warm houses of worship that could become sanctuaries of holy hospitality. Our hope is that by opening more and more of them we can prevent people from sleeping outside on the coldest nights of the year.

As RITI has grown, the Congregational Shelter program continues to be our heart and the foundation of how we share Holy Hospitality in all the ways we serve those experiencing homelessness.

In April 2020, CARES Act Funding allowed RITI to pilot the Recuperative Care program for individuals discharged from the hospital. The Family Inn program piloted soon after for families with children experiencing homelessness. Both programs were part of the long-term dreams of Room in the Inn – Memphis to provide more supportive services and pathways to housing.

We welcomed the first guests to our new campus at 409 Ayers Street on April 26, 2021 with expanded staffing to support 24/7 shelter and facility needs. The property holds a rich history as the former Collins Chapel Hospital and is owned by the CME Church who dreamed the building, once renovated, would again be a place of hope and healing for the surrounding community. The adjacent former clinic building would be room for future growth of RITI’s “Children in the Inn” (CITI) efforts for summer and afterschool care and learning opportunities. That phase of construction was completed in 2025.

The piece still missing in our continuum of care, at RITI and citywide, was continued support for those who move from homelessness to permanent housing. In 2023 RITI introduced the groundbreaking Housing Stabilization program, which provides up to one year of follow-up support for guests who move into permanent housing.