St. Mary’s Franciscan Shelter for Homeless Families
In 1987, Two Sisters of St. Francis wanted to address the growing problem of homelessness particularly the homelessness of families.
They searched for a place to locate a shelter. A friend of theirs happened to be the pastor at St. Mary’s Parish on the north side of Phoenixville and he invited them to use the convent building for their purposes if the Parish Council agreed. The Sisters met with the Council and they were welcomed to use the building rent-free as a shelter for families. The building was dedicated on October 25, 1987, and the first family arrived to stay on November 19, 1987.
From the beginning, the Sisters enlisted the aid of the neighboring parishes to assist them in feeding their guests, and soon Churches of all denominations joined in the effort to provide meals for the Shelter. In a like manner, volunteers came to help the Sisters in their ministry. In the years since 1987, the Shelter has housed more than 430 families and provided more than 50,000 nights of shelter and 150,000 meals.
A typical family may stay as long as eight weeks in a room assigned to them. They share a common laundry and bathing facilities and help with cleaning and chores around the Shelter.
In 1996, a partnership was formed to facilitate the delivery of services to the residents. This partnership was called The Consortium to Prevent Homelessness, and it consisted of St. Mary’s Franciscan Shelter, Open Hearth, Inc. and Orion Communities.
St. Mary’s Franciscan Shelter’s task in the partnership is to provide housing for the clients of the partnership. Orion Communities meets with our residents to determine marketable skills and to develop a resume. Orion will facilitate job interviews and help to arrange transportation once a job is found.
Through Open Hearth, case management is provided to our residents. We contract with them for these services. To qualified clients, Open Hearth offers a transitional housing program, a Family Savings Partner-Program as well as financial management and budgeting.
Thus the partners offer an array of services to move a motivated family from crisis to independence. Usually about one third of our families achieve this success and move on to their own place.
