Lei Barry's call to action was borne of personal experience; in 1965 she and her two children became homeless and struggled for years before summoning the resources to change their lives. Knowing firsthand how easy it is to lose a home, Lei vowed to prevent it from happening to other families in her community.

The result was the Inter-Faith Hospitality Network, a coalition she formed by uniting 12 local religious congregations to provide crucial services to homeless families. To date, Inter-Faith’s emergency shelter network has helped more than 2600 families stay off the streets, secure stable jobs and find affordable housing.