The Dwelling Place of NY celebrates 40 years of ministry
By Laura Whitford, President, St. Elizabeth Mission Society
Behind an unassuming door on West 40th Street in Manhattan is a ministry that has led 3,000 women from homelessness to home. In the 1970s, five Franciscan Sisters of Allegany were looking for a simpler lifestyle and moved to New York City. This was at a time in the city’s history when homelessness was becoming a problem, and “bag ladies” could be seen in the streets and in the main transportation hubs. After witnessing a woman eating out of a garbage can one day, one of the Sisters knew what their ministry would be – to be a beacon of hope, a place of love and comfort, and a home for women without homes.
Today, The Dwelling Place provides shelter for 15 women at a time who receive two daily meals and weekly meetings with a case manager who helps them set goals. Each of the women is given a sense of dignity by having their own bed and a place for their personal things in a closet and night stand. They have to leave at 10 a.m. every day to work or find jobs. Many are ordinary women who have lost their jobs, suffered an illness or something else that has upset the fine balance of their finances and resulted in eviction.
I learned this story when I recently attended the 40th anniversary celebration of The Dwelling Place of NY and visited their ministry. Or, as founder and case manager Sr. Nancy Chiarello, OSF, says, “It wasn’t a ministry, it was a way of life. It was of God.” From the very beginning, God’s hand was evident when the Franciscan Sisters gave their blessing, even though they had decided they weren’t starting any more ministries, and when the Diocese changed its mind about selling the building so The Dwelling Place could be housed there.
Since 1999, St. Elizabeth Mission Society has provided The Dwelling Place with $40,000 in grant funding to help with the residents’ meals as well as the Wednesday night Community Dinner that welcomes former residents, elderly neighbors living on fixed incomes, and women who are living on the streets. The Mission Society has also chosen The Dwelling Place as this year’s recipient of $200 per month for its ongoing support of a U.S. mission.
I find it fitting to feature The Dwelling Place for this year’s Feast of St. Anthony because his special love for those who are poor earned him his role as the patron saint of poverty. Have you ever found yourself in need of help from others? Perhaps someone reached out a hand when you needed it the most. St. Anthony challenged people of his time to give alms to the poor, even adopting a life of complete poverty, just like Jesus and St. Francis, so they would take him seriously. I ask you to you please consider a gift to help someone who desperately needs the basic foundations of life – food and shelter.
We celebrate St. Anthony’s Feast Day on Tuesday, June 13 by offering a Mass in thanksgiving for all the blessings, graces and gifts received from God through his intercession. Please list your concerns on this form so that we may place your intentions on the altar.
In the name of those who are poor,
Laura Whitford
President, St. Elizabeth Mission Society
Photo tagline: “To be safe is the biggest thing, and to have a place to call home,” says Director
Sr. Joann Sambs, CSA, who is pictured (left) here with two of the founding members, Lynn Sennett and Gerry Mullen. (right) “Some women don’t even know how to lay down when they first come here.”
To view our 2017 St. Anthony Appeal, click HERE.
