Empowering Women, Changing LiveS
Opening Doors uplifts and empowers women and children experiencing homelessness and poverty. Through housing, support, and comprehensive services, we collaborate with dynamic partners to provide hospitality, hope, and opportunity to over 5,000 women and their children. Our work builds a compassionate community and invests in a brighter future, helping women and their families overcome hardship, achieve self-sufficiency, and embark on paths to independence and success.
In Need of Shelter?
Call Teresa Shelter at 563.690.0086
Emergency and extended stay program are based upon availability. For additional resources please call the Homeless Hotline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week dial 2-1-1.
Three Doorways to Hope
Since organizational inception, our work has grown to encompass four locations including our operations center and three separate facilities including emergency, transitional, and permanent supportive housing. Our approach prioritizes key pillars: maintaining sobriety, securing full-time employment, regularly meeting with a case manager, and saving 30% of income. Due to these values, we are limited in our access to state and federal funding, as we choose to uphold our long-term vision over short-term compliance.
Teresa Shelter
Maria House
Francis Apartments
Emergency and Extended Stay Programs
Transitional Houseing for up to two years
Income-based affordable housing
Three Doorways to Hope
Since organizational inception, our work has grown to encompass four locations including our operations center and three separate facilities including emergency, transitional, and permanent supportive housing. Our approach prioritizes key pillars: maintaining sobriety, securing full-time employment, regularly meeting with a case manager, and saving 30% of income. Due to these values, we are limited in our access to state and federal funding, as we choose to uphold our long-term vision over short-term compliance.
News
Attitude of Gratitude 2025 – Event Recap & Your Impact
With so many exciting things happening at Opening Doors, we’re thrilled to finally share a full recap of this year’s Attitude of Gratitude, and what an unforgettable evening it was.
Help Us With a Critical Need
Every day, women and children call Opening Doors home. Right now, over 30 individuals are living in our emergency shelter and transitional housing. Together, we create a safe, stable, and
Back to School: Ensuring Every Child Has a Fair Start
As backpacks are packed and classrooms fill with the energy of a new school year, we’re reminded of the excitement and hope this season brings. But for children and youth
Honoring Our Past, Celebrating Our Future
Last year’s Attitude of Gratitude Gala was a night to remember—filled with inspiration, community spirit, and an outpouring of generosity in support of women and children experiencing homelessness. Together, we
Upcoming Events
Latest Past Events
Attitude of Gratitude
Grand River Center 500 Bell St., DubuqueMark your calendar for Saturday, November 15, 2025, as we gather at the Grand River Center in Dubuque for our annual Attitude of Gratitude Gala—an evening dedicated to celebrating Opening […]
Frame Show
Vision Health Center 505 Cedar Cross Road, DubuqueJoin us for Vision Health Center’s Fall Frame Show on Thursday, October 16th, 2025, from 9:00am – 6:00pm at our Cedar Cross Road location. This year’s Frame Show is about […]
LatinX Fiesta
Dubuque Museum of Art (Millwork District) 1000 Jackson St., DubuqueEvent Poster (PDF) Opening Doors is proud to be part of this year’s @Latin X Fiesta as a nonprofit vendor booth! Dubuque’s Millwork District will come alive with sizzling food, […]
Support the Mission of Opening Doors
The women in our programs come from diverse backgrounds, with lived experiences including domestic violence, substance abuse, mental health challenges, and generational poverty. At Opening Doors, we treat each woman and child with dignity, offering personalized, comprehensive case management. Through this process, women are empowered to realize their full potential by setting achievable goals, gaining employment support, receiving life skills training, and participating in financial literacy programs, parenting classes, substance abuse treatment, and health care services. We also provide access to essential resources like food and clothing, helping them move toward stable, independent living.
Sign Up for Email Newsletter
Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter and occasional updates to stay informed about the latest news, inspiring stories, and impactful initiatives at Opening Doors!
Newsletter Signup
Receive our monthly e-newsletter and occasional updates about what is going on with Opening Doors.
Opening Doors Dubuque
Empowering women and children experiencing homelessness through compassionate care & comprehensive programs. We provide shelter, support, and a path toward stability and independence. Services: Teresa Shelter, Maria House, and Francis Apt
Thank You, Dubuque Discount Gas!
This holiday season, we are grateful for the support of Dubuque Discount Gas and the amazing team who helped grow our mission.
A special thank you to the wonderful cashiers Angie, Kayla, Ri, and Dale for your willingness to love and care for our residents and help spread the mission of Opening Doors every day.
We are so thankful for the holiday drive hosted at the store, your generosity and community spirit helped make the season brighter for the women and children we serve.
It truly takes a village, and partners like you remind us how powerful compassion can be. Thank you for standing with us and opening doors to healing, hope, and home.
3 CommentsComment on Facebook
Grateful for Community Partners Who Show Up <3
Last week, we were honored to receive a $5,000 donation from the Spahn & Rose Lumber Co. & team in support of Opening Doors mission to provide shelter, support, and pathways to healing for women and their children.
A special thank you to Brock Even for his leadership, board presence, and continued commitment to our work. We are incredibly thankful for the entire Spahn & Rose team for being steadfast partners in the growth and impact of our mission.
Because of community partners like you, we can continue opening doors to healing, hope, and home- every single day.
Thank you for believing in our work and investing in brighter futures!
1 CommentsComment on Facebook
Last Friday, a second round of Shakch’s story hit mailboxes—and the impact is more than you know.
Shakch’s story is one of strength, resilience, and the power of having a safe place to land. At Opening Doors, she found stability, support, and the space to rebuild. Today, she’s writing a new chapter filled with hope—and you are part of that story.
When you give to Opening Doors, you’re not just making a donation…
✨ You’re stepping into someone’s journey.
✨ You’re helping women and their children find stability and build a path toward sustainability.
✨ You’re making healing, hope, and home possible.
If our appeal landed in your mailbox, thank you for opening your heart along with it.
And if you didn’t receive one, you can still stand with Shakch—and so many others—by giving online anytime.
🔗 Give via the link in our bio or on our website.
Because every story deserves a safe place to begin again. 💚
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Why Sponsorships Matter at Attitude of Gratitude
At Opening Doors, sponsorships are more than logos on a screen or names in a program — they are a direct investment in healing, hope, and home for women and their children in our community.
Because of the generosity of our Attitude of Gratitude sponsors, $141,900 was raised through sponsorships alone, providing hundreds of nights of safe shelter and critical support for women and children experiencing homelessness in Dubuque.
These dollars help sustain what happens inside our walls every single day:
• Safe, stable shelter
• Trauma-informed case management
• Support toward sobriety, mental health, and employment
• Pathways to long-term, sustainable housing
Sponsorships allow us to focus agency dollars where they matter most — on our programs, our staff, and the women and children we serve — while ensuring this annual event remains accessible, impactful, and mission-driven.
To our sponsors: Thank You for standing with Opening Doors. Your partnership doesn’t just support an event, it changes lives and strengthens futures.
#AttitudeOfGratitude #OpeningDoorsDBQ #HealingHopeHome #CommunityImpact #ThankYouSponsors
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
We have a few residents getting ready to move into their new spaces — an exciting step toward independence! 🏡
As they transition, we’re in need of gently used furniture to help them get started. If you have any of the following items in a smoke-free and pet-free home, we would love to take them off your hands:
🛋️ Couches
🪑 Chairs or loveseats
🛏️ Dressers
🖼️ End tables
📺 TV stands
Your donation can make a house feel like home for a woman or family beginning a new chapter.
If you’re able to donate, please reach out to Ashley or Audrey at 563-690-0086 or email her at aehrlich@openingdoorsdbq.org — thank you for helping us support our residents on their journey to stability and self-sufficiency!
2 CommentsComment on Facebook
Yesterday, we had the privilege of hosting another tour at our shelter, and it was so much more than a walk-through.
At Opening Doors, education is advocacy. When community members step inside our walls, they see beyond the surface. They witness the compassion of our staff, the dignity we strive to uphold, and the courageous journeys women and their children take every single day.
Tours give us the opportunity to share the why behind our mission:
• Why safe shelter matters.
• Why personalized support changes lives.
• Why stability, healing, and sustainable living require community partnership.
These moments remind us that understanding creates empathy and empathy drives action.
Thank you to everyone who steps inside - Your curiosity, your questions, and your willingness to learn help us continue breaking down barriers and building a stronger Dubuque.
If your business, church group, or organization would like to schedule a tour and learn more about how we empower women and their children, we’d love to welcome you in. Let’s keep opening doors—together. 💛Giese Manufacturing team & family (Stephanie Meyers) thanks for coming down!
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
With the help of both the Teresa Shelter and Maria House I know I can do anything if I just stay positive and put my mind to it. With you having “Open Doors” there is hope for everyone who enters the programs.