Poor Box Recipient for July and August 2017
St Mary’s Franciscan Shelter for Homeless Families
Guided by the Gospel and the spirit of Francis and Clare of Assisi and Mother Francis Bachmann, we provide temporary shelter for homeless families, creating a community environment which fosters the dignity of each person, always seeking innovative ways to help families move toward independence.
Accepting families on a non-discriminatory basis, they are allowed to stay for eight weeks. St. Mary’s is the ONLY shelter in Chester County that allows men to stay with their children, allowing families to stay together through difficult times. For success stories go to www.stmarysfs.org
Volunteer with us….We have an army of volunteers that help us. Some come to us weekly, some monthly and some annually. Call and find out how you can help.
How is the donated money spent? It helps our clients with…food, gasoline, stamps for resumes, testing costs that clients may need to get their GED, and aid in securing housing.
“In the 23 families who came through the Shelter one year, we had one young mother and her small child with us. The father of her child died and she had no one to take her in, so she came to us. While she was with us, she found work and she enrolled in GED classes to finish her high school education and to increase her earning potential. Each week she attended GED classes on two separate nights, and this was after working a whole day first. We paid for the cost of her test.
In those 23 families we also counted one Dad that came with two children to stay with us. Within a week he had led the Mom and a third child to the Shelter. She passed her drug test, but we didn’t hold much hope that she would continue on the straight and narrow with us. Dad was always looking for a better job than the one he came in with, and he landed one, full-time with benefits and more money. He saved a little and with a lot of help from friends they were able to get their own place. He finished his time with us with his family intact and the mother of his children clean and sober. They have made a good beginning.”
209 Emmett Street
Phoenixville, Pennsylvania 19460
phone: 610-933-3097
email:
www.stmarysfs.org
Sister Bernadette SSJ