Warm Hospitality Introduces Little Brown House
By Mary Donovan
The Little Brown House was put on view at an elegant springtime pot luck dinner. The affair was a fundraiser and an introduction. Many of the guests had never been in the house. It was an occasion of gasping and exclaiming and ``I would never have guessed.’’
The obvious admiration of the guests was a tribute to the members of the Social Justice Ministry. The Little Brown House is the successful realization of a vision. A few years ago, St. Mary’s Parish bought property at 26 Summer Street with an eye to future expansion. The house sat vacant until a couple of people from the social justice ministry wondered aloud whether it could be used for families in transition until the parish was ready to begin the expansion.
The determined group pushed the concept from vision to reality. Volunteer help and donations transformed a decidedly shabby building that showed its two-year lack of occupancy into a neat neighbor-worthy home. Dozens of people pitched in. Individuals, families, an Eagle Scout Group, and a number of high schoolers painted the interior and exterior. They installed a new garage door, built a deck to replace one that was falling down. They collected furnishings and contributed money for operating expenses.
Catholic Charities manages the program under their homelessness program. Families start out with six weeks from Catholic Charities, then if all goes well they can stay until they save up enough to go out on their own, said Kay Canney of the Social Justice Ministry.
Five families have been helped through stays at the Little Brown House. The first family stayed six months, said Kay, and now they are out on their own. For four months, the house was home to two Liberian young men, ages 19 and 21, who were sponsored by the Congregational Church under the auspices of Lutheran Social Services. The house is now waiting for its next occupant.
When they come they will find a spacious home with big rooms, nice light, bright paint and shiny floors. It’s comfortably furnished and welcoming. Everything was donated, said Kay. O’Coins and Fr. Paul donated the refrigerator, dishwasher and stove. She gestured toward the couch where a group was sitting and chatting through their hors d’oeuvres ``That’s Fr. Dennis’ couch,’’ she said
Kay is the money manager of the operation. The following is information from her records
Income
Total to date $ 12,855
Expenses for the first 7 months of this fiscal year
9/1/05-3/30/06
Water $ 61
Gas 1,718
Elec,cable 388
Misc. 427
Total to date $2,594
In September and October, she said, the house management paid a couple of Verizon bills which they are no longer doing (occupants of the house are now responsible for their own telephone bills). The miscellaneous amount.listed is for keys, heating service contract and cleaning.
The income was derived mostly from individual contributions augmented by $800 from the bake sale and $500 from the Jesse tree fair. As of 3/30/06, the Little Brown House account held the sum of $670. Add to that the results of the potluck fundraiser – an estimated $1,600, said Kay..
Copyright © 2006, St. Mary's Parish, Shrewsbury MA.
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