Newsletter: January 2025
Dear Friends of Joseph House:
We love the changing seasons. Each time of year has its own beauty, and winter is no exception. The dormant earth, the pale light of the sky, the skeletal trees . . . the starkness of winter is a time to enlarge our perception of what is beautiful, to appreciate life when it seems cold and subdued.
In a diary entry from the winter of 1944, Dorothy Day recorded her observation of a world of wonder and hope:
A beautiful day. The sky heavy with clouds. The sun coming and going, wondrous patches of blue sky, intense against the lavender and purple and warm rose of the clouds. The trees black and silvery from recent rain, branches filled with starlings, sparrows, and songbirds. . . .
There is always color, life, through the winter; under the grass, the dead leaves and the snow, green plants stay alive.
It’s understandable to have the winter blahs, and there are days we wish we could hibernate or fly south like some creatures do. But it’s a new year so maybe we can resolve to look at the world around us with fresh eyes. If we can’t see the hope that is buried there, we can at least believe it will be revealed when the time is right. Just being patient is a way to be hopeful.
“The winter of our discontent,” to borrow a phrase from Shakespeare, is something everyone can identify with at some point. If we know someone who is down, it doesn’t take much on our part to lift the atmosphere. A smile and a few kind words can add color, light, and warmth on a cheerless day. Sometimes people have serious difficulties and we can’t change the circumstances, but we can be their strength and love them in their suffering.
It’s hard to appreciate hard times, but we firmly believe grace is always at work. Sharing someone’s burden is part of that. This is so important to us at the Joseph House.
With the problems people bring to our Crisis Center, an immediate response is often required. And now that temperatures are dropping, there is an extra sense of urgency. Thanks to your support, we can act quickly and directly. We are grateful that we can count on you.
Here are some recent stories of people we assisted:
Miriam is 58 and a stroke survivor. Her unsteady gait and vision problems put her at a high risk of falling, and that’s exactly what she did. She broke her collar bone, resulting in a right arm with limited mobility. Miriam lives alone in a tiny bungalow in a run-down neighborhood. Since housing costs no longer make any sense, the rent takes the lion’s share of her disability check. There’s a real mismatch between what she pays and what she gets, which is not uncommon these days, but for the poor it’s devastating. Miriam never has enough money to pay her electric bill. She was behind by a large amount, but the utility company said if a payment of $316 was made then she would be put on a budget plan. The Joseph House paid that amount in full.
Jasmyn is 35 and has five children. She had a job at a drugstore, and when she and her family became homeless she desperately tried to keep working. Her life was too chaotic, however, and she was let go. Jasmyn qualified for temporary welfare benefits, and that allowed her to move her family into an apartment. There was nothing left over for anything else, so the Joseph House paid the old utility bill of $450.
Ashlee, 39, had a steady job until a heart attack and open-heart surgery brought her life to a standstill. She received government help for a short period of time, but that ended, leaving her with no income. If not for subsidized housing, she and her child would be homeless. Ashlee has not been medically cleared to return to work, so she is anxiously trying to get her state benefits extended. The Joseph House paid her overdue electric bill of $406.
The house that Catherine, 55, and her granddaughter were living in burned to the ground. The owner disappeared afterward, leaving Catherine feeling abandoned and displaced with no place to go. The thought that she was failing her granddaughter made a difficult situation even worse. A family member took them in but then made them leave. The two resorted to living in Catherine’s car. The Joseph House paid the $400 security deposit so they could move into an apartment.
Mabel, 44, was also homeless and caring for a grandchild. Her plight began when she fled an abusive relationship. Various family members would let her and her grandchild sleep on a couch, but their stays were never long. Mabel works as a motel housekeeper. A job, unfortunately, is no guarantee of being able to afford moving into a place to live. Sky-high security deposits were keeping Mabel and her grandchild homeless. Our contribution of $374 allowed them to move into a stable home of their own.
Ramona, 54, said she has arthritic pain all throughout her body. The cold air was creeping into her home and her propane tank was almost empty. The cost of getting it filled was beyond her fixed income. After an agency turned her away, Ramona came to the Joseph House. We contacted the gas company and paid $350 for a delivery.
Monika is a young mother of three with a fourth on the way. The father of her children is incarcerated. She and her children were homeless, but a recent approval for subsidized housing meant they could get a roof over their heads once again. When Monika tried to get the electricity turned on in the apartment, she was informed that her previous unpaid bill needed to be paid in full. The Joseph House paid $400 toward the amount.
Warren, 29, is raising his two daughters by himself. He lost his job pouring concrete when business slowed down. He qualified for Unemployment, but his check equals his rent. Some of it had to be used for car insurance, food, and heat. To prevent Warren and his children from being evicted, the Joseph House sent $500 to his landlord.
Leandra, 39, arrived in our country ten years ago. She had two children with her husband, but he was deported and subsequently killed in an accident. Leandra works in a fast food restaurant. If she’s lucky, her take home pay will be enough for the rent. Paying the other bills is a constant struggle. The Joseph House paid her overdue electric bill of $400.
Next month we will have some facts and figures from the past year to share with you. We’ll go over our Financial Assistance program plus our Food Pantry, Soup Kitchen, Hospitality Room for the Homeless, and the Joseph House Workshop. Your support does a lot of good. We’ll also tell you what happened during the holiday season. It was busy!
Our hopes are always high at the beginning of a New Year — may it bring happiness and peace to you and your loved ones!
Your Little Sisters of Jesus and Mary
Sr. Connie was interviewed by Our Sunday Visitor about the threat of cold weather to the homeless. Read the article here:
Prayer is so important to us, and we would love to remember your special intentions when we are in chapel: Contact Form
Your donations are needed for the Joseph House to continue. We are truly grateful for every show of support: Donate
There are always the poor, as our Lord reminded us. There are always the lame, the halt and the blind, people being discharged from hospitals, unemployables, vagrants. There are always these, ‘our least brethren,’ in whom we may see Christ as he told us to. And the harder it is to see him under dirt and drink and vermin, the more we are exercising our faith.
‘Love is surrender,’ we had been told on our retreat in July. ‘Give yourself to God in the poor.’ And how else can we show our love for God?
— Dorothy Day