Serenity Pointe
Shelter from the storms of life
PO Box 1929, Dunlap, TN 37327 * 423-949-7068
About Serenity Pointe
Serenity Pointe's mission is to restore faith that life can be better, one person at a time. We offer a hand-up, not a hand-out, to those who want to change their lives but have nowhere to turn.
We are a rural organization, and we believe firmly that rural communities are capable of meeting their own needs for life-recovery, homelessness, and affordable housing services. We work primarily in Bledsoe, Franklin, Grundy, Marion, Rhea, and Sequatchie Counties.
Serenity Pointe was founded in 2008 by Debbie and Gerald Morrison of Dunlap, Tenn. Our mission is supported by the the generosity of local congregations, businesses, and families.
We are a rural organization, and we believe firmly that rural communities are capable of meeting their own needs for life-recovery, homelessness, and affordable housing services. We work primarily in Bledsoe, Franklin, Grundy, Marion, Rhea, and Sequatchie Counties.
Serenity Pointe was founded in 2008 by Debbie and Gerald Morrison of Dunlap, Tenn. Our mission is supported by the the generosity of local congregations, businesses, and families.
Serenity Pointe is a faith-based 501(c)3 organization.
Debbie & Gerald Morrison, Founders
The Serenity Pointe Story
Serenity Pointe wasn’t supposed to be a resource for people in need. It was supposed to be a 56-acre residential development with 100 new homes in Hixson. Three years ago, that development was our dream. I was a successful realtor. Gerald was in construction. We lived in a huge house. We traveled. We had big plans
Then one night I woke with God’s voice in my ear. He said to me, “You’ve got the wrong Serenity Pointe.” He didn’t tell me what that meant, only that Serenity Pointe would be a work for Him.
I knew I was being called, but didn’t know what to. So we went about life, loving our success and money. Real Estate continued to consume us.
After Gerald's dad had a massive stroke in 2006, Gerald and I moved to Dunlap to be closer to his parents. Our families are from Marion County, but his parents had moved to Dunlap a few years back. Gerald and I continued to work in real estate, but we found life in Dunlap to be much calmer. And in that calmness, I began to feel the Lord calling me again.
By the end of 2007, I knew it was time to do the Lord’s work, and I left real estate. I still didn’t know what we were supposed to do, but I knew it had to do with being a servant and being arms and legs for those who were hurting.
Around the same time, my oldest son was forced to come to terms with his alcoholism. It was a terrible experience for a mother, but it turned my attention toward the consequences of addiction. My search for understanding led me to Bread of Life, a homeless shelter in Crossville started by a husband and wife.
What I learned about homelessness shocked me. I thought that homeless people were men who would rather sleep on the street than work. Did you know that 85 percent of homeless people actually have a job? Did you know that 39 percent of them are women or children and this percentage is growing? Did you know that the average age of a homeless person in Tennessee is six? Not 26. Not 46. Just 6.
I had discovered what Serenity Pointe was supposed to be – shelter from the storms of life for those who had no place to go and nowhere to turn. I trained with organizations around the state for six months. We took the our first person who was homeless home with us from a cemetery and for the next 9 months many where to stay with us in our home before we were able to attain a shelter.
I still don’t know everything, but when people are calling you in need of help right now, you learn fast – how to get food stamps, how to enroll in Families First, how to tell the difference between “public housing” and “Section 8 housing,” where the Greyhound bus goes and where it doesn’t. I know how meth is made and how to look for signs that someone’s been using. Until last year, I’d never stepped foot inside a jail, but now I’ve been in and out so many times to visit with inmates who need help that I’ve lost count.
It’s been a hard road, and the learning curve has been steep. But God is opening new doors everyday and bringing people with knowledge, experience, and compassion into our lives. We’re on a journey for the Lord to do just what our mission statement says – to give people a second chance and restore their faith in a better life.
We invite you to join us on this journey it's AWESOME!!!
- Debbie Morrison, Founder
Then one night I woke with God’s voice in my ear. He said to me, “You’ve got the wrong Serenity Pointe.” He didn’t tell me what that meant, only that Serenity Pointe would be a work for Him.
I knew I was being called, but didn’t know what to. So we went about life, loving our success and money. Real Estate continued to consume us.
After Gerald's dad had a massive stroke in 2006, Gerald and I moved to Dunlap to be closer to his parents. Our families are from Marion County, but his parents had moved to Dunlap a few years back. Gerald and I continued to work in real estate, but we found life in Dunlap to be much calmer. And in that calmness, I began to feel the Lord calling me again.
By the end of 2007, I knew it was time to do the Lord’s work, and I left real estate. I still didn’t know what we were supposed to do, but I knew it had to do with being a servant and being arms and legs for those who were hurting.
Around the same time, my oldest son was forced to come to terms with his alcoholism. It was a terrible experience for a mother, but it turned my attention toward the consequences of addiction. My search for understanding led me to Bread of Life, a homeless shelter in Crossville started by a husband and wife.
What I learned about homelessness shocked me. I thought that homeless people were men who would rather sleep on the street than work. Did you know that 85 percent of homeless people actually have a job? Did you know that 39 percent of them are women or children and this percentage is growing? Did you know that the average age of a homeless person in Tennessee is six? Not 26. Not 46. Just 6.
I had discovered what Serenity Pointe was supposed to be – shelter from the storms of life for those who had no place to go and nowhere to turn. I trained with organizations around the state for six months. We took the our first person who was homeless home with us from a cemetery and for the next 9 months many where to stay with us in our home before we were able to attain a shelter.
I still don’t know everything, but when people are calling you in need of help right now, you learn fast – how to get food stamps, how to enroll in Families First, how to tell the difference between “public housing” and “Section 8 housing,” where the Greyhound bus goes and where it doesn’t. I know how meth is made and how to look for signs that someone’s been using. Until last year, I’d never stepped foot inside a jail, but now I’ve been in and out so many times to visit with inmates who need help that I’ve lost count.
It’s been a hard road, and the learning curve has been steep. But God is opening new doors everyday and bringing people with knowledge, experience, and compassion into our lives. We’re on a journey for the Lord to do just what our mission statement says – to give people a second chance and restore their faith in a better life.
We invite you to join us on this journey it's AWESOME!!!
- Debbie Morrison, Founder
