August 9, 2011
It was over 10 years ago that I first met Sara. She’s older – in her 50’s now – but when I saw her last week I was glad to see she still had the enormous energy and big personality she was kno…
June 28, 2011
On the surface, everything seemed fine. Barbara’s husband was a police officer. She worked as a nursing assistant and cared for their two children. But inside their home, Barbara and her two d…
May 11, 2011
“Hope is holy,” reads the first line of a poem written by a group of women at Calvary. To have “hope” isn’t something these women take lightly. Rather, hope itself is sacred. Without hop…
April 13, 2011
The music in the church was loud and joyful. There were tears streaming down the faces of family and friends. There was a pride in the graduates’ steps that brought tears to my eyes as well. S…
February 23, 2011
When I ran into Sharon a few months ago, she didn’t look well. You could tell that her health was poor – her teeth were broken, her eyes were dull, she was very thin. Addiction had taken a tol…
January 25, 2011
My paternal grandmother was a tough woman. She raised five children in a small farmhouse and often cleaned other people’s houses to make ends meet. After years of walking with pain, Grandma had hip…
December 15, 2010
A light snow on the ground. Watching my children open presents left for them by Santa Claus. Homemade cookies from recipes passed down by my grandmothers. “These are a few of my favorite thing…
September 29, 2010
Having a job is about so much more than just earning an income. Don’t get me wrong, the money is necessary and critical. But when I talk to the women at Calvary who have recently gotten a job, I…
August 10, 2010
I passed by one of the large emergency shelters yesterday afternoon while walking back to my office. Standing outside, holding a trash bag filled with her belongings, was a woman who had lived at Ca…