Newsletter: February 2024

Byjosephhouse

Dear Friends of Joseph House:

It’s the middle of winter and cold and dreary outside, but the days are getting longer and though we can’t see it, we know spring is on the way. The change is slow and gradual but persistent. God shows us that another name for hope is patience.

Likewise, in serving the poor and those in need, what’s most important is not to give up. Our efforts may seem small, but day in and day out, they make a difference. The final results are in the hands of God and will work out according to His timetable. What we need to do, which is really the only thing we can do, is to love the person in front of us.

We want to thank you for your continued support of Joseph House. While the year is still fresh let’s take a look at what we did together in 2023 at our two ministry sites.

Joseph House Crisis Center

  • 1,685 checks and payments were issued for vital needs, e.g., to prevent evictions and secure rental housing, to pay for emergency motel stays, to stop utility cut-offs, and to purchase prescriptions and health care services. We help with anything necessary as long as the need can be demonstrated.
  • 4,086 bags of groceries were distributed from our Food Pantry. An average of 321 households, representing about 760 individuals, received food each month.
  • 7,767 meals were served in our Soup Kitchen. Many of these were bagged lunches, but in October our preparation teams began returning after the pandemic and hot meals are once again being served.
  • 7,431 sign-ins were recorded at our Hospitality Room for the Homeless. Our services include food, laundry, emergency clothing, toiletries and personal care products, and showers.
  • 175 new winter coats were given to children.
  • 15,900 pounds of food were collected at our Thanksgiving Food Drive, the most ever. (Bernie and Jim Greene have been organizing this food drive for 36 years!)
  • 185 turkeys were given to families at Thanksgiving and Christmas.
  • 611 gift bags for children were given out at Christmas. Each bag had two toys, a book to read (still important in the era of screens), a hat and gloves for winter, an activity or coloring book along with crayons or pencils, a family gift such as a board game, and, as often as possible, a small gift for the parents.
Precious beyond measure. Our services reach people of all ages. Here a volunteer is holding a little child whose mother signed up for our Christmas toy program.

Numbers have their place, but our focus is always on people. With their burdens they come to us, and we see the great glorious diversity of mankind. Each person is precious beyond all measure. We are members of one Body, all destined for eternity, and charity is the pledge of our faith.

Joseph House Workshop

Your support keeps the Joseph House Workshop in operation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The Workshop provides a safe and healthy environment for up to eight homeless men. The men are given the time and assistance they need to get job training, address personal growth and health issues, and begin steady employment.

The Workshop opened almost 20 years ago, and there was some facility maintenance that was required. Because of your support, we were able to replace the floors and windows throughout the Workshop building.

One of the new windows. No more leaks!

New floors and lighting were also installed at the Joseph House Crisis Center.

Our Soup Kitchen is really a multi-purpose room.

It is deeply consoling that we can count on you to help keep the mission of Joseph House alive and well. There is so much good being done! Your support is needed in order for us to assist the many people who come to us for help. We are often their last resort.

Most of the financial help we provide is to prevent a crisis. But sometimes the help takes the form of enhancing life and bringing hope. For three years we have paid for school pictures of a little boy whose mother is homeless. He lives with his grandparents who are on a very limited income. Although she does not have custody, his mother visits him regularly, and she is so glad to be able to buy the pictures for her son, now in second grade.

St. Charles de Foucauld wrote, “Every family is always a light, no matter how weak, in the middle of the darkness of the world.” We do whatever we can to make this light shine a little brighter—even the little things can mean so much. Some families have a lot of struggles, more than their fair share, but Joseph House is here for them. Your commitment to our work is what makes that possible.

With God’s help, may we always live in solidarity with those in need.

Your Little Sisters of Jesus and Mary

Would you like us to pray for your special intentions? Please send us a message: Contact Form.

Gifts of any amount in support of our ministry are welcome and needed: Donate.