Your Impact
The mission of the Joseph House is to promote social justice and stable family life through direct assistance to the poor, whatever their needs may be.
The Joseph House depends on private free-will donations. It does not receive government funding. Sr. Mary Elizabeth Gintling, our founder, trusted in Divine Providence, acting through the generosity of people, to supply everything she needed for her work with the poor. She wanted the freedom to obey the Holy Spirit and not regulations.
We share Sister’s trust that what we need will be given to us. The Joseph House welcomes all people and is committed to doing all that we can to help those in need according to our means.
Our work is conducted through the Joseph House Crisis Center, which offers emergency social services, and theJoseph House Workshop, a residential program for men who are beginning new lives after being homeless.
Your generosity has a big impact on the lives of many people.
Here is a summary of what your support of the Joseph House accomplished during 2025:
The Joseph House Crisis Center
2,170 checks and payments were issued to help people in need. We help with any essential bill as long as the need can be documented: rent, security deposits, emergency motel stays, all types of utilities (electricity, natural gas, heating oil, propane, water), prescriptions, medical treatment, dental services, car repairs, etc.
5,283 bags of groceries were given out from our Food Pantry. On average, about 428 households (representing 1,114 individuals) received food each month. Around 35% of the people receiving food are children.
6,752 meals were served from our Soup Kitchen. Local churches and organizations in the Salisbury area take turns preparing and serving the meals.
Our Hospitality Room (a day shelter for homeless men and women) responded to 5,964 requests for its services, which include showers and laundry. We also give out clothing (shirts, pants, underwear, socks, jackets, shoes), backpacks, sleeping bags, personal care products, and food. Many of our visitors are from a core group of 25 to 30 men and women.
435 Christmas gifts bags were given out to children. Each bag was filled with two large gifts, multiple smaller gifts, a book to read, an activity book or game, and something for the cold weather, such as a hat, gloves, scarf, and socks. Plus we made sure parents had enough wrapping paper.
Approximately 350 children received new winter coats.
The Joseph House Workshop
The Workshop marked its 20th anniversary in 2025. Your support keeps it in operation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The Workshop program has two phases: Phase 1 is classroom-based, and in Phase 2 the residents begin working. At the end of 2025, there were two residents at the Workshop, both in Phase 2. One works at a hospital in the linens department. He is anticipating his next step in life and has begun looking for an apartment of his own. The savings from his job will help him make the transition to independent living. He is also proud (and so are we) of his three years of sobriety.
The other resident works at a large retail store and attends to the parking lot and shopping carts. He recently achieved six months of sobriety, and we are proud of him as well.
Nick, the Director of the Workshop, has been with us for several years. He wanted to share a personal message:
“We all here at the Workshop, employees and residents, want to thank all the donors and volunteers for all that they do for us. Without them we would not be able to do what we do.”
We hope you have a better understanding of how important your support is and how it makes a difference to so many people in need.
Always remember that every act of charity and kindness is never finished; it’s like when a pebble is dropped in a pond, the ripples goes on and on. We never know how many people will end up being touched.