Newsletter: January 2024
Dear Friends of Joseph House:
We began New Year’s Day the way we begin every day, sitting quietly in our chapel in the early morning light, letting go of our thoughts, settling down, settling in, and just being present. We might have things to do and places to go, but our first appointment is always with our Lord. Before anything else, we give Him our time, not because we want something out of it, but because that’s what you do when you love someone.
In chapel, we quite naturally speak softly and move without haste. We show honor and respect before the Tabernacle, and those same virtues are required when Morning Prayer is over and we greet the day’s business. You see, we never leave God’s presence: our daily activities, the routines we follow, the people we see every day, the faces that are new to us—all of it is a privileged meeting place with our Lord. The mystery of the Incarnation is ever-present; it is the everyday reality of the world.
This comes to the fore in our Joseph House ministry, chiefly by working to uphold human dignity. All human life is sacred and worthy of love and compassion: God guarantees it.
In an ideal world, the intrinsic value of everyone would be respected. But that’s not the case. Yolanda, for example, was assaulted in her home. She is 62 and lives on a fixed income because of poor health. After she was attacked, she no longer felt safe in her home, which is a terrible feeling. A nearby apartment community offered less isolation, but for Yolanda moving in was impossible because a security deposit was required in advance. She has no family to help her, and two agencies turned her away as they were out of funds. Thankfully, the Joseph House Crisis Center had the money to assist Yolanda, and we sent $412 to her new landlord.
Sometimes we meet people and it’s a little shocking how they have to live. Fernando and his wife are both deaf. They live in a house that belongs to a relative who is now in a nursing home. The water has been turned off and every day the couple goes on a search for drinking water. Bathing is a rare luxury. With their only income being a meager SSI check each month, they seemed trapped in their circumstances. We paid the water bill of $395. A social worker is now helping them with other services they need.
Annette, 54, was also having water problems that seemed insurmountable. She lives in a trailer off a dirt road and her water comes from a well on the property. The pump broke, and Annette needed to share the cost of fixing it with her landlord. Nothing would be done until she came up with some money. Annette had been without running water for three weeks when she contacted our Crisis Center. Other places had turned her down, but we said yes, we can help. We sent $300 to the well contractor so he could get started on the repairs.
Demetria, 25, and her two children had been homeless for more than six months, staying in various shelters. She never lost hope about getting back on her feet, and a new full-time retail job promises to be the gateway to a better life. Demetria also found a new apartment, but with the deadline to move out of the shelter quickly approaching she was afraid she would not earn enough money to cover the security deposit. The Joseph House helped with $400, although that’s not the end of the story.
Since Demetria had absolutely nothing, two of our volunteers collected appliances, furniture, and household items from their friends, family members, and neighbors, thus allowing Demetria and her children to move into a home and not just empty rooms. Our volunteers are the best!
Trudy, 72, lives alone. Most of her Social Security goes toward the rent. She was on a payment plan for heating oil deliveries, but she missed a payment, so now she has to pay the full amount upfront. Trudy came to the Crisis Center because she had no heat in her house and no way of paying $375 to get a delivery of heating oil. An agency that administers government grants could not help her, but we were able to issue a check immediately.
Violet, 60, is being stretched thin: she is caring for her mother (age 94) and two grandchildren and also working full-time. Despite her job, she could not pay all of her rent. We helped with $350. Violet is very humble and was so grateful.
THANK YOU: Time goes by quickly enough as it is, but the last few weeks of the year always seem like a sprint. There’s the Magi Concert and food drives and then the distribution of turkeys and winter coats and toys, plus the usual activities of the Crisis Center and Workshop, plus our own preparations and celebrations that mark the holiday season. 2023 is in the books and we’ll tally up some figures for next month, but the first thing we need to do is thank you from the bottom of our hearts for making it all possible. We and our volunteers are busy only because of your generosity. The Joseph House can give to those in need only because you give first. And so for every donation, contribution, helping hand, and prayer, thank you.
We hope somehow each day you find little reminders that God is with you wherever you go. It is the intimacy at the heart of our joy in living. May the New Year be a new beginning for all of us, a chance to grow in faith, hope, and love, doing our best to cry the Gospel with our lives.
Your Little Sisters of Jesus and Mary
We spend time every day praying for our friends and benefactors. Please send us you special intentions: Contact Form.
Your support enables the Joseph House to continue serving families in crisis: Donate.
We received this note from someone we helped almost 20 years ago. She never forgot it, and she wanted to let us know she has been able to pay it forward. How beautiful! 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.
