….While the Missionaries of Charity operate homeless outreach missions in the Tenderloin in San Francisco and in Oakland, there is a specific mission that focuses on one-on-one, long-term outreach beyond those missions. The ministry, run by Sister Salvina, is a stable resource to those who are chronically homeless. Most of the individuals she visits have one or more mental illnesses, primarily schizophrenia, and have fallen through the cracks of the “system” in San Francisco.
The Missionary of Charity sisters who work in in homeless outreach truly exemplify the heart of the Good Shepherd. Sister Salvina knows the name of each person she visits, including family history, medical history, how long and where they have lived on the street, even their favorite food, birthday and other details. To the world, these human beings are overlooked and forgotten. To her, each person she works with is truly known, seen and loved….
I recently traveled with her, another sister and a 20-year volunteer, Albert Kohler. Sister had already been out that morning with a retired barber who volunteers his time cutting the hair of the homeless. During our visits that day, she told me she hoped we would see a man named William to check on him, as he had told her that he tried to take his life earlier in the week….
At our first stop, while sharing hot coffee, sandwiches, new clothes and a new blanket to help a woman stay warm, the van drew more men and women hoping for the same.
One such person was Dale, who had just gotten out of jail that day. Sister Salvina rejoiced when she spotted him. With tears in his eyes, he told her that he was heading to his family’s house and that he had just had his birthday two weeks prior. It was evident that he was thirsting for love.
After giving him some food and hot coffee, she gave him a birthday present—a St. Benedict medal cross. They prayed together before she gave it to him, and he wore it proudly. She then asked what his next steps were and how he intended to get back on his feet. She invited him to the soup kitchen for food and fellowship.
We next went to visit a man named Renner, who lives in a tent under an overpass. We parked across the street and made our way down the hill into an open area surrounded by bushes. The area around the tent had burnt trash, old clothes and various food boxes. Sister Salvina caught sight of a tin that was empty, happy that the meal she had given him earlier in the week was eaten.
“So often if we don’t bring them food, they don’t eat,” she explained.
Renner was not home, so we got back into the van and headed to another spot down the street. As we drove under another overpass, Sister Salvina told me about the people living in the small pockets of pillars of the bridge. When we arrived, we walked toward the reservoir behind the freeway, tapping on tents as we passed by to let residents know the van was there with food.
We came to a dirt path above the reservoir, and Sister Salvina began calling out to William. This was where he lived—under an overpass near a giant metal pipe. She showed me where she had previously crawled, under the freeway, to try and find him and others to check on them. As we were looking into the cracks to find him, she turned, spotted William behind us, and joyfully invited him to come to the van….
We next met three men who were living in an encampment with their dogs. Upon seeing one of the men, Daniel, Sister Salvina remembered that he had wanted juice the last time they met. She went into what could be described as her Mary Poppins van and found everything they needed, including Daniel’s juice.
Our next attempted visit, to a man named David, failed when we could not find him near his home next to the railroad tracks.
We then visited Michael who lived down the street in a tent. He playfully showed the sisters his new dinosaur mask as they handed him food. We prayed with him and left him with a solar-powered flashlight.
The last man we visited was Serion. He has schizophrenia and autism. We gave him a flashlight and hot food and prayed with him before we left….
By Mary Powers of the Archdiocese of San Francisco
Thank you Mary Powers for high lighting the important work the Missionaries of Charity do in much needed areas. Mother Teresa the founder of the Missionaries was known in Calcutta as the “Saint of the gutters.” California support the amazing work that these Sisters do for the poorest of the poor.
Our own Mother St. Teresa. What a beautiful story, but certainly not ideal living conditions for such a wealthy country. Instead of Gavin Newsom appropriating $50 million to resist President Trump’s policies he might spend some money getting these people out of these encampments.
God bless these Sisters in their service to those in need.
Those are dangerous places I would never venture to walk in.
Thank goodness there are holy and brave people who do God’s physical works of mercy for you.
Sorry you got downvoted. If I understand your point, you were noting that not all of us have what it takes to do what that Sister does, which is only the truth. She is admirable. Indeed, and the rest of us, I trust, are doing what we can, where we can.
I do not think the Church should allow nuns to “crawl under freeways” and do this kind of work– too dangerous. The City should have strong laws not permitting human beings to live outside, worse than animals. They should be either sent to live with family, or mandated by law, to go live in city- erected homeless shelters, with food and restrooms, with showers, and all sanitary needs, and laundry facilities, and clean, warm clothing. That should be mandatory. No one should be permitted by law, to live outside, in the streets, worse than animals. The sick should be mandated to be hospitalized. There should be a huge public media campaign launched, against drugs and tobacco, and drinking alcohol should only be done socially, not frequently, and alcohol should always be taken with food. Movie stars and rock stars and all the media, should launch a huge canpaign to tell these things to the public, especially kids. If you are hurting, get medical help and counseling, ASAP. It is not “cool” to get into substance abuse– smoking, drinking, or drugs. It is “very cool” to stay healthy, be a good kid, with good values and good behavior, work hard in school, do well academically, and work hard at sports and favorite hobbies and interests, and excel at them. Let’s eliminate the horrifyingly lucrative market for criminals to sell illegal drugs, and tobacco products, etc.– and put them all out of business, in America. Marijuana is highly destructive and dangerous, and should also be strictly illegal. No excuses, for that. America should begin a strong campaign for support and cultivation of Traditional Marriage and Family, and eliminate “gay marriage” and “gay adoptions” — and start a national custom of a slower, happier, healthier way of life, more friendly and social, building strong marriages, strong family homes, love of children, inter-generational love and support, and strong neighborhoods, with lots of nice social activities and pastimes, and a happy, healthy way of life. No one excluded, people who are elderly, sick, disabled, mentally disabled, widowed, divorced, or gay, all welcomed warmly. No bad behavior, just welcoming, warmth, and love. During the Great Depression, no one except a few hobos lived homeless, and the hobos were clean and decent, and did odd jobs in return for food. They lived in decent hobo camps. Families who were poor or out-of-work lived together, and took in relatives and friends. No one was a dangerous “hippie” anti-society,” dangerous outlaw, drug-addicted, committing crimes, with robbery, violence, etc. Everyone helped each other get through bad times. Everyone also usually had a choice of church or synagogue, and attended regularly. The United States should have a strong campaign to encourage all Americans to attend the church or synagogue, mosque, etc. of their choice, regularly, and support it. Clerics of all religions should be very respected and involved in American life, helping people. Religion, worship of God, should be very important, in Americans. We are “One Nation Under God,” and “In God We Trust.” Go join the church, synagogue, mosque (or house of worship of God) of your choice, today, with your family! That is very important, in our American way of life. That is my viewpoint.
I too would rather this was done by male religious or in conjunction with them (for there are female homeless), but I would rather it were done by these sisters than not done at all.
Sister Salvina’s work is unsafe, simply because America fails to eliminate these evils. Why don’t big, manly priests manage these dangerous charity programs– and be mandated by the Church to accompany these nuns, to keep them safe in their work? In foreign countries, long ago, women in religious orders were mandated to be sheltered from the evils of the world. Priests and brothers did work that involved possible dangers. Hopefully, these nuns also will not become sick with terrible diseases, that used to be eradicated by good scientific and medical practices in the United States. America is not meant to be a great, big irresponsible slum, in a Third World country, filled with failure to fix big problems, because of massive corruption and selfish, leftist political agendas. I believe in good, compassionate, anti-homeless laws, in which the dope addicts and mentally ill are compassionately picked up and placed in mandatory drug rehab centers and psychiatric hospitals– for life, if necessary, if they are incurable. These places could be located safely in healthy, large facilities in farm-like, rural areas, away from the public (for public safety) with plenty of room for healthy outdoor recreational activities, and good, healthy food, clean clothes, and medical and counseling services. Maybe some of them, though substance-addicted or mentally ill– could be successfully trained to do healthy, outdoor, simple work, like farm work, gardening, carpentry, maintenance work, .or simple indoor kitchen work, cooking, cleaning, etc. The homeless who are jobless and poor, could be placed in similar, clean, safe facilitues, with social and medical services, and job training and placement services for them. Good, safe, clean housing should be built, too, for those who get jobs that don’t pay much, and you could have a sliding-scale rental fee for each person– with good maintenance and cleanliness of the properties, a good, optional, healthy meal program offered to tenants at minimal cost, and good behavior mandated, for tenants. And never let a child roam the streets, worse than animals, unsheltered, diseased, dirty, clothed in rags, cold, suffering, and abused– that is irresponsible, and should be illegal– especially in America. We need to fix our broken America, and return to God, good churches, good values, Traditional Marriage and Family, good, natural roles of Man and Woman, Traditional Education, and a simple, plain, good, healthy way of living. No more leftist, sick, crazy ideologies, no more fads of “rebellion,”
lawlessness, and craziness, no more sin and crime. A happy, healthy, safe, caring, decent country for all. That is my viewpoint.
One of the biggest reasons there are so many problems today, is the destruction of Traditional Marriage and Family, and the Traditional Family Home. Destructions to Manhood, ignorantly ridiciling a good Husband and Father, and destructions to Wonanhood, ignorantly ridiculing a good Wife, Mother, and Homenaker, who is managing a home and family. To ridicule and seek to destroy all of this, is a horror before God. It is the basis, the core of life, the foundation of a country and civilization. . For a Man amd a Woman to fall in love, get married, settle down in their own new home, and raise a family in their “love nest”– is what God ordained, when He created mankind. To be a good Wife, Mother and Homemaker is actually a sacred profession, upheld for centuries by all civilizations. It is truly sacred. Motherhood is holy. And to be a good Wife, Mother and Homemaker is not just a role or job– it is a 24/7 sacred vocation. Staying up all night with a sick child, doing laundry, dishes, packing lunches, cooking, cleaning, arranging playdates, doctor visits, social calendars, etc. And teaching children, listening to them, helping them when they are upset or hurting, playing with them and helping them learn and grow, taking them to wonderful places to learn new things, sitting with them to help them with homework, help them with practicing their music, or dance or karate (etc.) routines, or attending ballet rehearsals, getting your child ready for special events and programs, attending soccer games, LIttle League games, swim meets, and other sports events– it’s wonderful, along with your Husband, the children’s loving Father– and always on-going. The whole family is involved. And teaching the children their Catechism, teaching them to practice the Catholic Faith, taking them to regular Sunday Mass, getting them prepared for the first Sacraments, teaching them their prayers, saying the Rosary and other prayers with them. Etc. A mother can still have a part-time job or business, to help add to the family income. She can take a college course, or a dance or music class, or be a part-time teacher, tutor or instructor, in a certain area. But firstly, Marriage and Family is a great, big responsibility, an act of deep, deep love and commitment, your primary, sacred role in life. And in the end — “There’s no place like home.”
I have a friend who had three children, and they all grew up and got married and had families, and were doing well. Then, her oldest son had a serious illness, and also had marital problems, and got divorced. Then, as her son was too sick to keep his job, his mom invited him to come home, and get all his medical care. She wanted to help him. He came home, and his illness got worse, despite good medical care– and he soon died. But he died at home, not out on the streets. Then, I have another friend, in Texas, who had five kids, all grown up, successful, with their own families nearly raised. Her youngest son got a serious illness, and he was in his fifties, with his own kids grown and married. Soon, he could only work part-time, as he was very ill. His mom and dad helped the family financially, and helped their daughter-in-law care for him. Their daughter-in-law also worked part-time as a Registered Nurse. Anyway, their son soon died– and his father also soon died, as he was old and ill, too. So, my friend, now widowed for a few years, also had a successful son who was married and had two boys in college. One night he called his mom, as he and his wife were getting a divorce– a big shock! His boys were all settled in their colleges, but would soon be hurting, due to their parents’ divorce. This is a large, devout Protestant family, so a divorce was very hurtful. Anyway, my friend invited her grown son to come live with her, as he could also work remotely. He also could see his college-age sons frequently. So he decided on that. He is now retired and still helps his aging, ailing mom, helps her with her gardening and plants, home and yard care and maintenance, and takes her to choir practice and church on Sundays, and takes her to her favorite church groups, etc. He plans on buying his own home someday, but for now, his needed help for his aging mom has increased, so he stays with her. I also used to know several priests who cared for their aging, widowed moms, cooked and cleaned for them, and cared for the family home, and took them out to eat, to the doctor, and on social outings. That is what everyone needs, a loving, caring Family Home, that you can always go home to, if you need to. “There’s No Place Like Home.” Never to be cast out into the streets– worse than animals.
Anyway, though I have my own views, I have always admired the work of the Missionaries of Charity. I was a volunteer for them a long time ago, for a summer, and joined them in doing a lot of very hard work– with some difficult people that they helped. I was concerned, because many of these people being helped, were unpredictable in their behavior, with very serious problems– and I hoped not to have to deal with any potential violence. I knew some younger people who joined their religious order, some who joined their lay order, and a couple of young men who became priests for them. I attended a Mass in which some young nuns made their final vows, and another Mass, in which some friends were received into the lay order. It is a special calling. Very, very hard work!
You’re perfectly free to hike over there and make her stop. Take popcorn.
To SouthCoast– “Perfectly free to make her stop?” Of course not! You missed my point. I think that nuns doing God’s work should not have to put their lives in danger, they should be kept safe by the Church. The City should clear out that area of homeless encampments, and make that area safe, and take care of the needs of the unhoused. Some of those homeless men– in any area– may not be safe to deal with, and violence, disease and crime may be lurking there. A nun is a delicate and holy woman, and the Church should provide reliable protection for her, in her holy vocation. When Catholic clergy and nuns, or church lay volunteers, visit the incarcerated in prisons, or visit patients in drug/alcohol treatment centers, they must follow strict protocols, and are carefully watched and protected by guards.
You raise an important point, not me. The work is dangerous but looking at Church history, how often have brave souls ventured into mission areas and found martyrdom for their efforts? Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful ones. The Lord honors those who fear not the loss of everything for His sake. I’m sure Sister Salvina does not seek anything but love and care for these unfortunates, and we the less brave ought therefore to pray for her safety.
This story made me weep at the abundant grace that God can heap on us, helping to tear down our artificial walls.
God bless you, sisters.
As a Roman Catholic, I, question the role of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on the migrant re-settlement issue. This is, in my opinion, not a matter in which the Church should be involving herself. To help legal immigrants find housing, schools, medical care, etc., is a praiseworthy task. But to contract with the government to settle people who are in this country illegally, I find that dubious at best.
It just makes me sick, that the Catholic Church cares far more for the foreign migrants, illegally invading a country, some of them dangerous criminals, involved in human trafficking and drug gangs– even some who are murderers— and yet, the Church– including the USCCB– cares very little about children, teens and vulnerable adults, whose lives are totally destroyed by their evil clerical sex abusers– heartlessly covered-up by a great many members of the USCCB.