Offering warmth, care for the homeless

By Bill Doyle
CFP Correspondent

WORCESTER – On a frigid January morning, Father John Madden spoke to a homeless woman at the St. John’s Food for the Poor Program.

While the temperature outside plummeted near zero, the woman had spent the night in a small tent and her propane had run out.

“She put all these jackets on and coats on,” said Father Madden, pastor at St. John Parish, “and blankets on and a sleeping bag. They layer up as much as they can. It’s cold and it’s sad. I’m heartbroken.”

Each weekday morning, St. John’s Food for the Poor distributes more than 1,000 plates of food to 250–300 people at the St. Francis Xavier Center across the parking lot from the church.

The plates could contain a bagel, egg and cheese, a sandwich, a salad, or a larger meal such as chicken parmesan.

The program is open from 6:30–9:30 a.m. Monday–Friday and Father Madden said some people come to get warm as well as get food.

“There’s definitely a chance that they’ve been in the cold all night,” he said.

Father Madden has seen more than his share of homelessness over the years, but nothing quite like this year.

“I think that this year it’s as bad as I’ve ever seen it,” Father Madden said. “I don’t have any data or anything like that. It’s just day to day over the years, the demand has never been as great as it is now.”

Asked why he thinks that is the case, Father Madden replied, “I think because there’s a shortage of affordable housing and a continued battle with substance abuse and mental health.”

Father Madden pointed out that some homeless people do not want to be confined at a shelter, but the overwhelming reason so many people remain on the street on bitter cold evenings is that there aren’t enough shelters for them.

“There’s a lot of them out there that would go if there was a place inside for them to go, for sure,” he said.

On Jan. 21 and 22, the City of Worcester activated warming centers from 9 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. at the Worcester Public Library, 3 Salem Square, and from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. at the Worcester Senior Center, 128 Providence St. Father Madden said the St. Francis Xavier Center is also on the list of warming centers, but the city has not yet asked to use it. The center has been used as a cooling center in the summer, however, and the city provided staff to oversee the guests.

In addition to the soup kitchen, St. John’s Food for the Poor also offers a food pantry on Saturday mornings. On Saturday, Jan. 18, more than 400 families lined up and down Temple Street waiting for the food pantry to open, according to Father Madden. People are provided with boxes that they fill with groceries that are placed on tables. During the week, a lesser amount of groceries are also available and meals made at the soup kitchen can be wrapped to be eaten later in the day.

“It’s not the solution by any stretch of the imagination,” Father Madden said, “but it’s something that helps a fellow brother and sister in Christ. So there’s a sense of gratitude for that.”

Other Catholic churches in the Worcester Diocese have food pantries, but St. John’s Food for the Poor feeds a large number.

“The goal is to go out of business,” Father Madden said.

By that, he means he wishes that the need to feed and house the poor and homeless would end. Unfortunately, the need will likely last forever. Father Madden lists two reasons why.

“Us people who are housed don’t care enough about people who are homeless,” he said, “and people make bad choices or are afflicted and addicted. So that’s going to continue, I think. All we can do is try to care more for them and try to heal them and help them the best that we can.”

Father Madden credits the many volunteers for enabling the St. John’s Food for the Poor program to help so many people.

“We have these great, great volunteers, he said, “who have developed a great spirit among themselves and towards the guests. It’s really just a fabulous, fabulous experience. They’re just amazing and we’re blessed by it. It draws us together. It can be discouraging and difficult, like life is, but in general it’s a real blessing.”

St. John’s Food for the Poor receives donations of food from Stop & Shop Supermarket, Core–Mark food distribution center in Northbridge, Rachel’s Table, local colleges and individuals.

In addition to food, St. John’s Food for the Poor receives donations of blankets, jackets, hats, boots and hygiene products that are offered to those in need. Occasionally, the program uses donated funds to pay for a motel for a night or two for a family waiting to be admitted into a family shelter.

St. John’s has sober transitional housing in its rectory called “Harrington House” where 16 men in recovery stay. Father Madden said some come off the street, but most go to detox and take part in other programs before staying at Harrington House temporarily before they find permanent housing. Father Madden said some of the men would be homeless if they weren’t staying at Harrington House.

Younger men usually stay a couple of years and older men stay longer, Father Madden said. The men must be employed or actively seeking employment. Those unable to work must perform community service, educational pursuits or job training. A monthly fee of $300 is required.

Donations of food can be dropped off in the morning at the St. Francis Xavier Center or at other times at the St. John rectory. For more information, call St. John Parish at 508–756–7165.

Financial donations to St. John’s Food for the Poor Program can be mailed to St. John Food for the Poor, 44 Temple St., Worcester, Ma., 01604, attention Father John Madden. Include what you’d like your donation to be used for. Volunteers at the food pantry are also welcomed.