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‘There’s no place like home’

CHARLOTTE — Members from two of the Diocese of Charlotte’s largest parishes, St. Gabriel and St. Matthew churches, are doing what they can to help end homelessness in the Charlotte area.

Working with The Salvation Army and the Charlotte Housing Authority, parishioners are helping to move women and their children from homelessness to self-sufficiency, in a joint effort they call “Homemakers of Mercy” or “HOM.”

More than 2,000 people are homeless in Charlotte, according to statistics from the Urban Ministry Center of Charlotte. The Homemakers of Mercy outreach was founded seven years ago on a concept by Mercy Sister Therese Galligan and the late Sister Jeanne Marie Kienast to combat the problem, especially among single women and children.

The goal is to provide these women and their children with transitional housing and the social services they need to become self-sufficient. Operated under the Charlotte Housing Authority, this Supportive Housing Innovative Program, or SHIP, moves families into an apartment complex owned by CHA. Sixty apartments are available for families, and they are allowed to live there for up to three years.

The Salvation Army screens and chooses the families from the Center of Hope, a local emergency shelter for homeless women, children and families. The Salvation Army also provides supportive services including vocational training, educational assistance, and therapeutic services.

St. Gabriel and St. Matthew parishioners provide resources, donated goods and volunteers through the HOM Ministry to furnish and prepare the apartment homes for the families.

Since the inception of this collaborative effort, 300 families have been able to escape homelessness.

Mary Ann Thomas, who serves as the coordinator for HOM at St. Gabriel Church, explains how it began at the parish.

“When we started, the idea of mercy was stressed by our founding visionaries, Sister Jeanne Marie Kienast and Sister Therese Galligan, Sisters of Mercy,” Thomas recalls. “They would always speak to us about how similar our project was to the work of Catherine McCauley (founder of Sisters of Mercy) to provide women and children with the resources and services to move beyond poverty.

“Our team was comprised of homemakers who at first didn’t consider their strengths to be empowering. However, we were passionate about the importance of our homes in shaping the lives of our own children. We knew – from our own experiences – a home provides peace and respite from the stresses of daily life.”
Setting up apartment homes for 60 families takes an enormous amount of help from the community. HOM volunteers collect furniture and supplies from local donors, then sort the items and store them until they are needed to furnish an apartment. Couches, kitchen tables and chairs, coffee tables, dressers, lamps, kitchen supplies, housewares, artwork – all items are carefully stored at a house on Sharon Road that St. Gabriel Parish owns.

Volunteers from St. Matthew Church and the St. Gabriel Men’s Club drive trucks on the third Saturday of the month to collect furniture from parishioners and others. They also help move the furniture into the apartments when needed.
HOM volunteers also stock the kitchen pantry and refrigerator before each new family’s move-in day, and when families arrive they are greeted with a home-cooked meal and a “Welcome Home” cake.

“We hope if we can provide this for families we serve that they might be empowered to move beyond homelessness to a future filled with hope and promise,” Thomas says.

She believes one of the unique aspects of Homemakers of Mercy is that they do not meet the families.

“This is our gift to the moms. The Holy Spirit works through us. We do not want the women beholden to us. The new home and new start is God’s mercy, offering them the opportunity for a new beginning.”

How can you help?
• Donations of furniture and money are always welcome. Volunteers are also needed to pick up donations and to help set up apartments. To learn more, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 704-362-5047, ext. 601.

• The St. Gabriel Men’s Club is hosting an Oyster Roast & Bluegrass Jam on Saturday, Oct. 22, to benefit the HOM Ministry. The event will be held for 6 to 10 p.m. at St. Gabriel Church. Roasted oysters, lowcountry boil, and beer and wine will be available. Tickets cost $25 each or two for $45. To order tickets, call 704-236-8145 or go online to www.StGabesOysterRoast.com.

— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter