Volunteers Tidy Up Shelter for Winter Season

By Katie Byrnes
Asst. Focus Editor

It is good to see people helping others, especially around the holidays. Shippensburg Catholic Campus Ministry and the Newman Association sponsored a service event that helped fix up a home that is a savior to many. Saturday Nov. 15, about 50 people traveled to the Silence of Mary Home in Harrisburg.

The Silence of Mary Home is a donation-funded homeless shelter where poverty stricken people can turn to in their greatest time of need. Whether they need a place to sleep or a hot meal, the needy can come to the home and know they have help and unconditional love.

Executive Director Susan Rudy has been involved with the home since its creation in 1999. She’s been called “the mom” because she lives there and helps take care of people who sometimes seem helpless. Rudy knows that the home she helped create is unlike many other shelters.

“Other places can reject people,” said Rudy. “We can’t say no to people, which means we really need to conserve what we get.”

The shelter is also different because it provides individuals with not only a roof over their heads but also a family.
Volunteer Shari Massini admitted that on many occasions, once children turn 18 years old, foster parents put them out on the street because they no longer receive funding for them. People in this situation, former state hospital patients, people who are down on their luck or depressed, the elderly and even families come for a place to stay.

As with most households, parents enforce rules. The same goes for The Silence of Mary Home. It is a Christian family environment, so everybody is required to follow the Ten Commandments. They also are asked to worship on Sundays at a place of their choice, and that can be outside, in a church or anywhere. Residents also have a curfew and chores, such as cooking and cleaning. These are small prices to pay when struggling individuals are provided with a home and meals — for free.  

The current number of homeless living there is about 28, but that is likely to grow, especially now that winter is approaching. Rudy also gave further reasoning for families having to live on the streets.

“We’ve been getting a lot more families because now it takes six months to get in most daycare programs,” said Rudy. “Without people to watch the children, the parents can’t work and can’t pay bills.  Then they turn to us.”
Roxanne Dennis, SU United Campus Minister, and her 78-year-old mother attended the event because they feel strongly about the cause.  Massini knows that the university helps a lot with events at the Harrisburg home.

“Ship is our family. They really know who we are and what we do,” said Massini.

Four students from SU and a retreat from the United Methodist Church attended the event and helped fix up the home to prepare it for the holiday season. SU freshman Michelle Bradley was a part of the clean-up.

“We spent the day getting ready for winter,” said Bradley. “There was a lot of painting to be done inside and windows needed to be sealed with plastic to keep the heat in.”

Volunteers also organized the pantry and cleaned the deep freezer. All of these tasks will help the residents in the long run.

“Space helps to heal,” said Massini. “People that come in here don’t have anything they desire, and when they’re living in a nice place, they see it as something they desire. This helps them heal.”

The event was a huge success in the eyes of volunteers, but The Silence of Mary Home has a lot more planned around the holidays. Rudy plans to distribute 375 Thanksgiving baskets to the underprivileged, which include an entire feast to feed a family each. Her reasoning for this is that no matter where they are in their lives, people will want to celebrate Thanksgiving, and everyone should be able to. When it gets colder, Rudy also is prepared to have a soup line.

The Silence of Mary Home is a place for anyone going through difficult times and needs a lending hand. If you want to help someone less fortunate, you can visit The Silence of Mary Home’s Web site at http://www.thesilenceofmary.org/Home.asp for more information.