“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” – Alice Walker
Empowerment is at the heart of the Charlotte Family Housing (CFH) model. It informs each detail and element of the CFH program; but ultimately empowerment doesn’t happen as a result of systems, it happens in relationships.
The relationship between CFH social workers and clients is one of genuine partnership and mutual trust. Our social workers walk alongside families moving out of homelessness as they reclaim their power. Anne Kouri, a social worker at CFH, believes that her most important job is not to dictate solutions, but to help people realize all they are already capable of.
“I can’t actually empower a person,” Anne says, “but I can absolutely help them discover power that they intrinsically have within themselves—and then they empower themselves.”
When Anne Kouri joined Charlotte Family Housing in early 2026, she brought decades of experience spanning midwifery, government services, nonprofit care management, and university teaching. But walking into her first interviews at CFH, she encountered something new.
“I have never seen a model like this,” she recalls.
It wasn’t just the program framework that drew her in. It was the people.
“If I can walk into a room and sit down with a bunch of people that I’ve never met before, and by the end of it, we’re all just feeling the same kind of positive energy and shared vision,” she says, reflecting back on her interview, “I knew I really, really wanted to be here.”
Like all of the women who comprise our social work team, Anne brings a heart full of both bold tenacity and gentle warmth. She is, in equal measure, someone who wants to fight against oppressive systems and someone who wants to make everyone she meets feel truly safe and cared for.
Central to her approach to social work is a belief that there is no hierarchy between herself and her clients. When she walks into a client’s home, she walks in ready to listen and learn.
“I don’t walk in being like, ‘I know how this is all going to go for you.’ I don’t have any idea. You tell me — how can I support you?”
The beauty of the relationship between CFH social workers and clients is that it flows both ways.
“I see myself in my clients, and I hope they see themselves in me,” Anne says. “Any of us can go through trying times that are not anticipated. I feel like I’m learning alongside my clients”
Anne has been a single mother for most of her adult life, so she knows intimately the challenges and gifts of raising children as a solo parent. It’s an experience she shares with many of her clients; over 90% of the families CFH supports are single mother led.
“I’ve always been a single mom,” she says, “and I think my clients just feel relieved that someone really could relate.”
Her relatability and authenticity help immensely as she builds trust in each relationship, creating the kind of safety that allows families to be honest about where they are and hopeful about what they’re striving for.
“There is something that really binds solo parents who are doing everything truly on their own. I can give them feedback that I know is honest, and they can hear it from me — because I’m not coming in saying I somehow know better.”
She describes a moment from a recent home visit that has stayed with her: after opening up to her, a client looked up and said, “I just feel so safe with you. When I look in your eyes, I feel like you’re really listening to me and you really care about me.”
For Anne, moments like these demonstrate the sacredness of social work.
“It’s definitely a calling and not a job,” she says.
In return, the families she supports — who are navigating homelessness, rebuilding stability, learning to trust again, and breaking generational patterns — remind her every day of her own power and strength.
“When I tell them they’re inspiring me and they’re teaching me, it’s very true and real.”
There is nothing more meaningful than seeing this empowerment in action. It’s not about a specific quantitative program outcome or metric. It’s a person discovering, with the support of someone who completely believes in them, that the power was theirs all along.
Charlotte Family Housing is proud to celebrate National Social Work Month by honoring Anne and every member of our team who bring their hearts to this work every day.
