My journey to Casa Esperanza began when I was 7. Our dog ran after a “cleaning lady”on her way to the bus stop. Ginger jumped at the lady and tore her coat. My mother gave me some money and told me to run after the lady and give it to her for a new coat. I told the lady I was sorry that Ginger had scared her. She thanked me for the money and reassured me. I recognized that this lady was poor and I felt sad for her. This gesture on my mothers has never faded.
In 1994 I was completing a sabbatical following a 25 year ministry at Sacred Heart Schools in Chicago. I was discerning my next ministry. The Society of Helpers had just moved their novitiate from a poor neighborhood in South Chicago. Jean Kielty, s.h. was the director of a large Catholic Charities Shelter in Chicago. She knew the plight of the homeless. She asked her provincial to keep the house and develop it into a second stage shelter for homeless woman and children. The Helpers mission is "to journey with those most in need”. I was approached about working with Jean to begin this project. Jean knew the need for a second stage shelter for woman who had made important changes but needed more time. Casa was designed to allow the woman to stay for two years. Some stayed longer if it meant completing a degree or if it was the right thing for them. Surviving homelessness, rejection by family and friends takes time to heal. It was a moment for me. I knew I could do it, something I wanted to do. I knew it was the call I wanted. Peace filled me. I had dipped into work with the poor over the years taking students to soup kitchens, visiting the elderly in projects, always wanting to do more and here it was. I never for a moment had a second thought about accepting the offer to be the director of this new project. It was a gift to me and I knew it was Gods action in my life. (To read more about Sally's work at Casa, click on the link under her picture.)
