Page 9 - Ministry of Caring

was squatting in the home from which he was evicted. Bair, who also started using drugs, decided to get sober after waking up in a hospital with IVs in both arms. He joined Alcoholics Anony- mous and entered the House of Joseph I, the Ministry’s shelter for men that opened in 1985, where he found the support and discipline he needed to overcome his addictions and become self-sufficient again.
“You have rules,” Bair said of the shelter. “You’ve got to do chores, get along with everybody. It got me on the right track.”
There are many reasons why people seek shelter. Some residents are in abusive relationships. Others have lost jobs and face mounting debt. They’re unable to pay the rent, let alone the electric bills. They might suffer from a chronic physical or mental medical issue that prevents them from working. At age 18, young adults may have left foster care and have nowhere to turn.
Taliyah Venning and her infant daughter, who recently went through Hope House III, had been sleeping on friends’ couches and in her car. She has since moved on to one of the Ministry’s transitional housing programs, which provide a critical bridge to independent living, and is studying to be a licensed practical nurse.
problems, which are a source of
physical pain and embarrassment for many who’ve experi- enced homelessness.
Padre Pio House provides permanent and supportive housing for men with special needs, while Bethany House I & II offer the same for women.
House of Joseph II
serves men and women
living with advanced HIV/AIDS. It has medical staff on site
24 hours a day. Services not only address the residents’ physical and spiritual concerns, but they also allow them to live as independently as possible.
Maria Lorenzo Longo House is for single women who need ongoing support to prevent them from returning to homelessness.
“At the Ministry of Caring, we satisfy people’s immediate needs with nutritious meals, hot showers and safe places to spend the night. We give ongoing support to wounded people who are chronically in need
of help. They are the disabled, the addicted, the poor and aged among us, and sadly, even the children, who depend upon the Ministry of Caring’s Emmanuel Dining Room to provide them breakfast or the main meal at noon,” says founder Br. Ronald Giannone, OFM Cap. “These short-term solutions are no small things; they can mean the world to someone who is hungry, cold or alone. But in order to fulfill our mission, we must teach people to provide for themselves.”
Taliyah Venning, the young mother in transitional housing, is putting in long hours to make sure she can provide for herself and her daughter.
“Right now, I’m running off of maybe five hours of sleep.
I work from 7 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon. Then I go from 5 to 10 to school, then I have to go pick up my daughter. And then I have to get right back up at 5 in the morning, sometimes 4, drop her off,” Venning said. “But the thing that sticks in my mind is, don’t give up. It will pay off in the end.”
To find out how you can volunteer or donate funds or items, call (302) 652-5523.
“These short-term solutions are no small things; they can mean the world to someone who is hungry, cold or alone. But in order to fulfill our mission, we must teach people
The Ministry’s
continuum-of-care
model is designed to
provide all the support
necessary to people
willing to work for a
better life. A person in
the shelter finds help
with employment at
the Job Placement
Center. When they’re
ready to move to per-
manent housing, they
can access the Distribution Center, a collection, distribution and storage facility for donated clothing, household items and furniture. Pierre Toussaint Dental Office can treat dental
to provide for themselves.”
—Ministry of Caring founder Brother Ronald Giannone
Eric Jennings, who has Asperger’s syndrome, went through the House of Joseph I shelter and then moved to Padre Pio House, a permanent housing program that opened in 2010 for single men with special needs. He was eventually able to rent his own apartment.
Rob Bair
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