Instruments of God’s Peace
Homeless, Bernice Denning discovered caring hearts at Cathedral Parish
By Rich Reece / Photography by Denmark Photo & Video
One year ago, Bernice Denning and her five children, ages 5-15, were living in a Salvation Army shelter for the homeless in Raleigh. The road to that place had included stops in Washington, Florida and Wilmington, NC. The road out – Bernice couldn’t see one.
Today, Bernice and her children live in a three-bedroom apartment. She works in laundry and housekeeping at the YMCA and manages her finances. Her goal in the coming year is to acquire a GED and become a Certified Nurse Assistant – a certification she had held in Washington.
The difference makers? Catholic Charities, a team of loving people from Cathedral Parish in Raleigh and, oddly, Hurricane Katrina.
Roberta Macauley, Catholic Charities’ Coordinator of Faith Communities Support Circles Program, explains: “When the Katrina evacuees came to Raleigh, it was a pretty crazy time. The county human services network was overwhelmed by the task of trying to resettle people, and they tried to engage the faith communities to help. Catholic Charities volunteered and we partnered with Lutheran Family Services to offer training to volunteers.
“The needs were numerous. We offered funds for apartments, and volunteers provided transportation, legal help, job seeking assistance, help enrolling children in school – eventually the effort by more than forty faith communities resettled almost 200 evacuees.”
Wake County, which has a Ten-year Plan to End Homelessness, took note. As the Katrina crisis subsided, the county asked the participating church agencies if they could apply the same ecumenical model to local homeless families. With helping funds from Wake county, the City of Raleigh and the Town of Cary, the Faith Communities Support Circles were born.
“The beauty of this model to me,” Macauley says, “is that it’s tailored to the specific needs of the homeless family. Teams of 6-10 volunteers whom we’ve trained work with them, starting in the shelter, to help them transition into a home, a job, the kind of life so many of us take for granted.”
Macauley has met with case workers at all the homeless shelters and transitional housing in the county to describe the program and the kind of family it’s designed to help. “We’re looking for families who have demonstrated a commitment to succeed,” she says. “They’ve participated in all the programs in the shelter, complied with the regulations, have been willing to work, and they seem ready to make the transition.”
Last February, Chris Shaw, a case worker for the Salvation Army, identified just such a person: Bernice Denning. When Bernice, who by then had lived in the shelter for eight months, learned that her family was being considered for the program, she prayed. “I felt like this was my last hope,” she says today. “I was living on a hope and a prayer.”
Macauley agreed with Chris Shaw’s assessment, and contacted a team of volunteers from Sacred Heart Cathedral Parish (one of four Catholic parishes currently participating, along with eight Protestant churches).
One member of the Sacred Heart team, Terry Gleason, humorously likens the group to “that crowd of people you see on the wireless phone commercials – the network.” They stand behind a client, quietly facilitating his or her efforts to live independently.
To meet with the team is to be impressed with the various competencies of the members, and with their humility: They really do think of themselves as “in the background.” It’s also to learn a lot about the obstacles facing the homeless, “basic things,” as Circle member Marie Moylan explains, “that work against the poor.” The poor live from crisis to crisis; the future is something to fear, not to plan for; the poor are wary, since in their experience promises are usually broken; and they have no support network, no circle of friends or experts to contact when a problem needs solving. A typical middle class parent may feel worn out with all the driving involved in work, shopping, school, and extracurriculars; the homeless usually have no transportation; many don’t work because they can’t get to a job on a regular basis.
And all of the “failures” associated with these obstacles have a snowball effect on things like eligibility for housing.
Circle member Tricia Moylan, Marie’s daughter, talks about the gradual evolution of the relationship between a client and the team. “Everything starts with trust, and that takes time to build, on both sides. It involves consistency, following through on the things you say you’ll do.”
Ann Werdel, team coordinator with her husband, Bill, elaborates: “All of the Support Circles are built on a covenant between the client and the team,” she says. “But if that covenant is broken, you don’t run away. You re-meet and figure a way to work things out.”
In their partnership with Bernice Denning, the Circle has worked in a variety of capacities. When an apartment was located, team members helped move the furniture. Circle member Joe Ryan has worked with Denise on learning to budget and to manage a checking account. Bill Werdel is involved in tutoring Bernice for her GED. Team members share transportation duties to get Bernice to work, her children to school and home in the evening; other members have helped her learn to deal with school officials and landlords when issues arise, what Ann Werdel calls “a ministry of accompaniment.”
In October, Circle member Erika Willacy accompanied Bernice and her family on a pumpkin hunt. The real reason for the trip, though, was to take a picture of the children to surprise Bernice on her birthday.
It’s not always smooth sailing. Roberta Macauley uses the phrase “empowering, not enabling,” and that process can involve acquainting clients with realities that they might prefer to avoid. “Joe Ryan,” Ann Werdel says with a smile, “has a talent for saying hard things in a loving voice. Instead of criticism, it becomes an invitation to grow.”
Circle member Denise Bates, a mom who has “been there,” feels a special empathy for clients. She says that another advantage to the Support Circle is their 24/7 availability. “Agencies are open from 9-5 on weekdays,” she points out. “We can always be reached when there’s a problem.”
Several members also mention how much their effectiveness is enhanced by their parish. “We’re all connected,” team member Martin Stankus says, “which our clients aren’t.”
The team also emphasizes that they have had a learning curve. “We were the first Circle,” Joe Ryan notes, “so I think for the first 4-6 months we were learning how to do this, and we’ve accomplished most of our work since then.”
More than anything, to meet the Faith Communities Support Circle team is to realize the role that faith plays in their work, and vice versa.
It starts at the Catholic Charities office. “This job is such a ministry,” Roberta Macauley says. “It allows me to live out my Christian principles every single day, and to give back some of what I’ve learned as a wife and mom.”
Every Circle meeting at Sacred Heart begins with a prayer. “We are all beloved children of God,” Ann Werdel says, ‘but we haven’t all had a life that allows us to experience that. We’ve benefited from social structures that aren’t available to people like our clients. Bernice is a beloved daughter of God. And we can help her to see that.”
“The Gospel tells us to take care of the least of our brethren,” Marie Moylan says. Her daughter chimes in: “Faith requires action.” Denise Bates says her 8-year-old son prays with her for the people the group helps.
“I don’t think you can take on families with so many challenges,” Bill Werdel says, “unless you have a sense of faith and hope.” He shakes his head. “There have been times when, despite our efforts, things frankly looked pretty hopeless; when we had to just do what we could and leave the rest in God’s hands. And then, somehow, things got better.”
Erika Willacy agrees: “I see a lot of God’s providence in the lives of these people. It reinforces my faith.”
Bernice Denning’s faith in God, and in people, has been reinforced as well. “My family has been blessed,” she says. “Without the Support Circle, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
The Prayer of St. Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
when there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand,
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Want to volunteer?
For more information on volunteering or on starting a Families Support Circle in your parish, call Roberta Macauley at Catholic Charities’ Raleigh Regional Office, 919-790-8533 or e-mail macauley@raldioc.org.