printed version
Spring Vol 34 #3
(pdf)
Shelter Me, O Lord
by Katherine Green, CSJ
The Women’s Inn is also a “pink palace” and a “five star shelter” as dubbed by the women themselves. Indeed it is spotless, attractive, and yes, very pink.
People need housing, benefits, legal, and medical help. Very capable staff can and do fulfill these needs, but they offer more because they have their eyes and hearts open. They can and do call each by name. Because it is personal, the Women’s Inn becomes a life raft for many women for many, many years. Being privileged to work there for a long time afords me
the perspective to see
the need for such a compassionate place, and to see its
value over time in the lives of women.
This was true for Mary, who grew up in an orphanage
run by Dominican Sisters. She was the first woman
I met when I went there as a volunteer, and was my
welcome wagon every morning. Mary stayed at the
Women’s Inn from the day it opened in 1980 until she
got housing in 1996. Though then housed, she returned
every night for supper and companionship. She died
in 2005. It is also true for Lena, who returned to the
Inn after an 11-year hiatus, dotted with stays in mental
health facilities. Lena grew up in Haverhill, down the
street from “the Farm.” Lena is brilliant. She discusses
politics, baseball, and gardening engagingly. She has
always refused housing, because she is waiting to get
the money back the government owes her. She recently
returned to her parents’ home. They are in their eighties.
I expect to see her again.
They say the aim is to end homelessness. It is a goal
to be prized, no doubt, but I have come to understand
that there will always be the need for a place to provide
shelter from the storm.
|