Sharise Dorsey and the Heart Behind the South DeKalb Day Center
How a lifetime of serving others prepared Sharise to lead DeKalb County’s first Day Center for neighbors experiencing homelessness.
“Today’s been a day,” Sharise Dorsey says with a laugh.
By late afternoon, she’s answered payroll questions, searched for employee paperwork, checked on operations throughout the Day Center, and stepped in to handle custodial duties. It’s a glimpse into life as Director of the South DeKalb Day Center at New Life, where no task is too small and every day brings something unexpected.
Sharise describes the role with a smile: “Being director means being an octopus… having your many arms to do many things at once.”
It’s an apt description for someone leading DeKalb County’s first Day Center for neighbors experiencing homelessness. But Sharise’s approach to leadership didn’t begin when she became Director. It had been taking shape for years.
“I’ve Always Been Taught to See People”
From an early age, Sharise learned that serving others begins with seeing them.
Although she never saw her grandmother at work, she knew the impact her years as a maid had on the way she viewed the world. Her grandmother taught her to treat every person with dignity, regardless of their circumstances.
That same spirit of service continued through her mother, who spent 37 years as a caseworker and often opened their home to people facing difficult seasons. As a child, Sharise simply thought they were houseguests. Years later, she realized many of them had nowhere else to go.
Those experiences shaped the way she understands homelessness today.
“It may not always be because you’re lazy,” Sharise says. “It could just be circumstance.”
After her parents divorced, she remembers the support system that surrounded her family and the wise financial decisions her mother made to keep them stable. Without either, she believes their story could have looked very different. The experience reinforced a truth she carries with her today: many families are only one unexpected setback away from crisis.
That perspective continues to guide the way she serves. “If I can do even just a little bit to help one person, then I need to do that.”
Preparing for the Work Ahead
Sharise spent her life volunteering through school, her sorority, and previous church communities, so when she discovered New Life in 2011, she was naturally drawn to its commitment to serving the community.
“I volunteered consistently, even though I was not yet a member of the church,” she recalls. “The community service aspect is what really drew me.”
Through New Life’s outreach ministry, His Love Extended, Sharise spent years serving neighbors across South DeKalb. As the ministry evolved during the pandemic, volunteers took outreach directly into the community, meeting people where they were. Those experiences gave her a deeper understanding of the complex challenges surrounding homelessness, and quietly prepared her for the work she leads today.
At the same time, her professional career was preparing her in a different way.
Sharise never expected to work for a church or nonprofit. With a degree in accounting, she built a career in accounting, trade compliance, and project management, developing the organizational and leadership skills that now help her oversee the many moving pieces of the South DeKalb Day Center.
Looking back, what once felt like separate chapters now fit together with remarkable clarity.
“You never know how God is preparing you,” she reflects.
Becoming Director of the Day Center
When New Life Community Alliance (NLCA) began preparing to launch the South DeKalb Day Center, Sharise didn’t set out to become its director. She simply wanted to help.
“I just wanted to be involved,” she shares.
As a DeKalb County native, the opportunity felt deeply personal. She had watched her community change over the years as poverty and housing instability increased, and she wanted to be part of restoring hope close to home.
“I wanted to be a part of something to maybe affect that type of change back to how it used to be,” she says, “and just to give people help and hope.”
Just as important as the mission was the organization behind it. Sharise believed New Life was uniquely positioned to lead because of its long-standing commitment to serving the community.
“We have a heart for it,” she says. “We wouldn’t see it as just a business opportunity.”
That heart, she believes, is what sets the Day Center apart. Many of the staff members were already part of the New Life community, bringing with them a culture of compassion cultivated through years of serving neighbors.
An Octopus with a Mission
“Being director means being an octopus,” Sharise shares. The job requires wearing many hats, but her leadership philosophy is simple: never ask someone else to do work you’re unwilling to do yourself.
“I’m never too busy to do the same thing you’re doing,” she says. “I’ve served food. I’ve cleaned… whatever needs to happen.”
That mindset extends beyond pitching in. Much of Sharise’s role centers on continual assessment – working with case managers to evaluate each neighbor’s needs, identify service gaps, and adjust the Day Center’s approach as new challenges emerge.
She regularly collaborates with partner agencies to identify where services can be better tailored. If workforce programs aren’t reaching neighbors because the jobs require experience they don’t yet have, Sharise and her partners work together to find a better path forward.
“We’re always trying to see how we can streamline,” she explains. “Find out what resources they don’t yet have… then try to make those connections and build relationships.”
Success Is Measured One Neighbor at a Time
Every neighbor who walks through the Day Center’s doors begins with a conversation. More than anything, Sharise wants people to feel safe enough to tell their stories.
“If people are closed off and hesitant to share what their background is, that will hinder our ability to really help them,” she says. “We want to make sure the environment is so comfortable and so welcoming that they feel okay with opening up.”
That trust allows case managers to understand not only what a neighbor needs today, but what barriers have brought them to this moment and what support will help them move forward.
“We’re trying to find out why you’re in your situation and treat that,” Sharise explains.
Together, case managers and neighbors develop a personalized path forward that may include employment, housing, behavioral healthcare, or other supportive services.
Less than five weeks after opening its doors, the Day Center is already seeing neighbors take meaningful steps toward stability. One neighbor came seeking employment and stable housing, and now works as the Day Center’s part-time janitor while continuing to receive case management and support. Two women have secured employment and are preparing to move into more independent housing. Another neighbor found the courage to share struggles with self-harm, allowing a case manager to connect him with behavioral health services and ongoing therapy.
Each story offers a glimpse of what’s possible when people are given the opportunity and support to move forward. Ultimately, this is what Sharise is working toward.
“My goal is to see that there are graduates of sorts from the Day Center,” she says. “People come in unhoused, unemployed… and then we start seeing tangible turnaround.”
Looking Ahead
Although the South DeKalb Day Center is still in its early days, Sharise hopes its impact will continue to grow – not only across DeKalb County, but as a model for communities seeking compassionate, holistic solutions to homelessness throughout Georgia and beyond.
Looking back, it’s easy to see how every chapter of her life prepared her for this moment. The lessons learned from her grandmother and mother, years of serving through New Life, and a career that equipped her to lead have all come together in one place.
At the heart of it all is a simple conviction: every person deserves to be seen, every neighbor deserves dignity, and every life deserves the opportunity to begin again.
Inspired by Sharise’s story? Volunteers help the South DeKalb Day Center meet neighbors’ needs with kindness and care. Click here to volunteer today!
