Our director Father Mike is on a board to create a new overnight homeless shelter in Camden. A week ago Joseph’s House finally opened. DSW and JVC volunteers there twice a week to serve food and talk with the homeless. It has begun well, offering basic hospitality to some of our homeless neighbors. John Klein, a friend of the Oblates and one of the persistent leaders behind the project, made this observation from the first night.
A touching moment I happened to catch was a homeless man taking his bedroll and pillow out of a wet plastic bag. After he arranged his things on the floor, he noticed a guy nearby who was lying on the floor, fully clothed, covered only with a thin blanket. Seeing the man, he picked up his pillow, tapped the sleeping man on his shoulder, and without a word, bent over and slid the pillow under the stranger’s head. He returned to his spot, folded up a blanket and used it as a pillow. I wish I could explain how I felt watching this happen in a room where 18 others were all huddled and struggling to be warm and comfortable.
Here’s a brief article about JH in the Catholic Star Herald:
Camden Chronicles 