Friday, November 26, 2010
By LINDA M. LINONIS
youngstown
Although the Dorothy Day House of Hospitality evolved out of the Catholic Worker Initiative, you don’t have to be Catholic to be involved in this ministry — you just have to care.
Sister Ann McManamon of the Sisters of the Humility of Mary, director, personifies that quality. She calls this endeavor “a blessing.”
The house marked a milestone Monday – its first anniversary. It opened Nov. 22, 2009, and served its first meal Nov. 23. “We were anything but ready,” Sister Ann said.
But prayer and hard work propelled the ministry for the homeless and those in need. Sister Ann said she’s sent out some 450 e-mails to volunteers and donors to convey her “gratitude and great joy.” The house is into a routine, and its future is taking shape.
Sister Ann credited the project to a joint effort by the Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown and the Sisters of the Humility of Mary. A Salmon Grant, funds earmarked for the poor, and funds from the Ursulines were used to buy the house at 620 Belmont Ave. that once housed the Sterling McCullough-Williams Funeral Home.
“Thanks to the individuals and community that made this pos sible,” Sister Ann said.
Since it opened, Dorothy Day House has served some 8,000 meals and has a group of about 60 volunteers. A core group of 11, a Catholic Worker Community, oversees the operation, Sister Ann said, and “prays and reflects on life in the house.”
Sister Ann said “teams galore” focusing on meal preparation, gardening and improvements in the house, to name a few, keep Dorothy Day functioning and moving forward.
Her background is in education and administration, and she was most recently in pastoral ministry at St. Christine Church.
She noted that the Dorothy Day House, and others like it in the Catholic Worker Movement, function on two basic principles: “We want to have the hospitality of a home and reflect a simpler way of life,” she said. “And we always want to take a peaceful stand against injustice.” Those who come to Dorothy Day House are called guests; poverty is the common injustice they share.
Sister Ann said the community support for the house and what it stands for has been gratifying. Individuals, restaurants and businesses have donated food, supplies, time and skills. “This kind of partnering and compassion for the poor changes everything,” she said.
But don’t think the underemployed, unemployed and homeless who come to Dorothy Day House eat and run. “There is a sense of community here,” Sister Ann said of the 100 or so who come to the house nightly for food and fellowship. “The need is overwhelming,” she said.
Currently, the second and third floors of the house are being cleaned, painted and prepared for eventual permanent occupancy by some of the guests who come to the house.
Cassie Brackin, 18, is a volunteer and guest at Dorothy Day. She and her fianc live in an abandoned house in the Valley. They had worked for a carnival; the couple was robbed of most of their money.
“I heard about Dorothy Day, and we’ve come ever since,” she said one night as she was helping get the meal ready. “It’s nice to be with other people. I don’t know where we would go if this wasn’t here,” she said.
Joseph Mediati, who is unemployed, said he “knows tough times” but helps at Dorothy Day “for a sense of purpose.” He noted it was good to give back to those who help him. “People are treated with dignity and respect,” he said.
George Taylor is part of what he called “the homeless community” after losing his job and then his house in Brownlee Woods.
The U.S. Army veteran, who had served in Germany, said he works in the garden at Dorothy Day and “likes to do what’s needed.”
“I feel like I’m part of a family here,” he said. “It’s a caring atmosphere.”
Aundrey Bouie spends his days at such places as a library, bus stop, parks; he walks at night. An unemployed machinist, he said he also works in the garden at the house. “The people” are what bring him to Dorothy Day. “They care and understand,” he said.