About us
OUR STORY
May Shen founded reMember to address a core gap in care: while systems focus on housing and services, lasting recovery depends on intrinsic healing. Years of fieldwork—from encampments to policy chambers—taught her that fractured identities, loss, and eroded trust cannot be repaired by resources alone. Her trauma-informed support groups create spaces where people can reclaim self-worth, envision new futures, and rebuild the inner strength that makes change possible because healing starts when people see themselves as capable of it.
THE PROBLEM
In 2024, an estimated 770,000 individuals in the United States are experiencing homelessness, reflecting an 18.4% increase from 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Among this population, over 70% are estimated to have a diagnosable mental health condition, and approximately 30% live with a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression. These figures do not include undocumented individuals, whose experiences of homelessness often go unrecorded in official counts.
The relationship between homelessness, mental illness, and substance use is complex and bidirectional. While psychiatric and substance use disorders can contribute to the loss of housing, homelessness itself is associated with increased psychological distress, trauma exposure, and barriers to treatment, which may worsen existing conditions or trigger new ones.
In the current system, correctional facilities have become default providers of mental health care for many unhoused individuals, largely due to the lack of accessible, community-based alternatives. Simultaneously, telehealth has become a primary mode of mental health service delivery, which is difficult to use for individuals who lack privacy, internet access, digital literacy, or insurance.
Engagement in services such as housing programs or rehabilitation often depends on an individual's mental health stability. Without adequate mental health support, many individuals experiencing homelessness face challenges in navigating service systems, making long-term planning, or separating from social networks that exist within street-based communities.
THE SOLUTION
reMember expands access to mental health care for unhoused individuals by combining trauma-informed support, peer-led community, and low-barrier service navigation. We are a registered 501(c)(3) organization.