Amirah’s lived experience and a legacy of care

Once a week, you’ll find Amirah Casey at Mary’s Place, serving meals and swapping stories with families. With a background in food service and a natural love for connecting with people, meal service feels like the perfect fit. For Amirah, sharing a meal and serving others is about so much more than food—it’s about care, respect, and community. That belief is rooted deeply in her own life experience.

Amirah experienced homelessness during high school while living with her single mom and two sisters. Her mom worked tirelessly to provide for her daughters, but she also lived with chronic migraines and mental health challenges that led to substance abuse and made stability difficult to maintain. Despite fighting hard to get better, resources were limited, and the family faced ongoing housing instability throughout Amirah’s youth. What Amirah remembers most about her mom, though, isn’t the hardship—it’s her selflessness.

One day, while Amirah was still in high school, she went to visit her mom, who was living out of a motorhome and had very little of her own. As they walked together, they passed a woman who was clearly living unsheltered and didn’t have shoes. Without hesitation, Amirah’s mom took off her own shoes and gave them to the woman.

That moment has stayed with Amirah.

When her mom passed away in 2022, Amirah and her sisters honored her memory in the way that felt most true to who she was—by making sandwiches and handing out essentials to people in their community who were experiencing homelessness. Since then, Amirah has been looking for a consistent way to give back and continue the legacy of care her mom passed on. That search led her to Mary’s Place.

Amirah has been volunteering weekly at Mary’s Place, and she feels deeply connected to the families there. She loves the sense of community and the relationships that have grown over time—especially with one family in particular.

“There’s a mom named Cindy and her young daughter who are really special to me,” Amirah shares. “They remind me of me and my own mom—not just because they’re going through a hard time, but because of the way they laugh together, offer kindness to others, and support each other through it.”

During meal times, Amirah often reads with Cindy’s daughter and her friends or plays “vet clinic” with her stuffed animals.

“It’s been really special building relationships with families and catching up with them every week,” she says. “I love hearing about their wins—both big and small—and their hopes and dreams for the future. We chat about everything from last week’s math test to upcoming job interviews and our favorite movies.”

Through sharing her volunteer work, Amirah hopes to challenge misconceptions about homelessness.

“Homelessness can happen to anyone,” she says. “It can be the result of a layoff, leaving a dangerous living situation, or, like my mom, not having access to adequate health care and mental health support. Families who find themselves without a home are just like yours—they love their kids and work really hard to provide for them.”

She encourages others to get involved, too.

“I really encourage people to spend time volunteering and getting to know these lovely people—our neighbors,” Amirah says. “The first step in solving family homelessness is connecting with, listening to, and having compassion for the people experiencing it.”

One of her favorite memories so far? Helping out at a winter holiday party—decorating cookies, laughing together, and sharing moments of joy.

“It was incredibly rewarding,” she says. “Despite experiencing such hardship, there was so much laughter and happiness among the families in the room. It’s truly remarkable how resilient these families are.”

Through her weekly presence, Amirah is doing exactly what her mom modeled years ago—showing up for others with compassion, generosity, and an open heart. In doing so, she’s helping build a community where everyone belongs and has the support they need to thrive.