BY CHRIS DOODY, STAFF WRITER
Get uncomfortable, leave your comfort zone, and visit the St. Francis Inn.
Photo Courtesy, Marrissa Ryan
The Inn is a Franciscan, Eucharistic community that empowers people to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty; it seeks to build relationships and respect with those who experience these.
Kensington is a notorious neighborhood home to drugs and homeless people. Kensington is working to combat the opioid crisis through targeting trash, crime, homelessness, overdoses and infectious diseases according to the Urban Health Collaborative
But the St. Francis Inn creates a safe environment, almost a safe haven, for the area. Alice Miller Nation compared St. Francis to the Warming House, a local shelter in the Olean community, as the Inn was used as inspiration. The Inn involves rotating seating: getting people in, fed, out, repeat. All this happens while volunteers connect with guests, making sure they feel welcomed. And, of course, everyone gets dessert. All the desserts and foods are donated from grocery stores in the area, generally cakes or pies.
The trip started rough. We got into the vans just as midterms concluded, and everyone was exhausted. But despite the fatigue, we were all excited and ready to embark on this journey.
Once we arrived at Kensington, we got out of the vans and onto the street and immediately became aware of our surroundings.
Before we finished unloading our bags from the van, we heard sirens raining down the street then an ambulance whizzed by.
Everyone on the trip was quickly enlightened by how friendly and grateful the guests at the Inn were. Within five minutes of the start of the dinner service, everyone became fully invested.
Every day, they had us split into different jobs to prepare for dinner, like at the Warming House. When at the Warming House jobs are given for what needs to be done at that time to get the meal or dessert completed. Here jobs were given out depending on what needed to be done in the area, from within the kitchen, to cleaning up the street, or restocking Marie’s Closet.
During meal service, it was an entirely different experience to serve here versus at the Warming House; we were all split up doing different jobs: serving, bussing, resetting and someone helping with the desert. Whereas at the Warming House there are very few guests who stay and eat, most meals are packaged to go.
Fr. Michael Duffy came to our apartment one night and shared the stories of some of the Inn’s guests. He challenged our preconceived notions of homeless people just giving up and not wanting to work. He taught us that the stereotype of homeless people is often incorrect. Many people think homeless people ‘failed the American Dream,’ but the American Dream failed them. This was a profound learning experience that opened our eyes to the realities of homelessness.
The Inn opened on Dec. 16, 1979. The team operating the Inn has lived across the street since its opening.
Daily mass is held in the chapel above the Inn. This chapel is like no other- it’s a little sanctuary. There is so much to take in. My favorite part is in the one corner with a big window with cactuses.
If you ask anyone who went on this past trip, they’ll tell you it was a transformative experience, and that you need to go. Words cannot do this place justice; it truly is a beacon of hope and inspiration.
doodycd24@bonaventure.edu
