James Butler

I first starting coming to LEFSA’s women’s group in 2002 when a community member recommended me to the ministry. There I was introduced to Sr. Dorothy, who instantly made me feel really loved.

You will know my disciples because they show love for one another. When you come to this community, that is what you are going to get.  It takes time to work on people, but it works.  It worked on me.

Several years ago, I arrived at Life Experience and Faith Sharing Associates, homeless and pregnant. Sr. Dorothy befriended me during that time when my life seemed to be falling apart. She encouraged me to get medical care and pregnancy counseling.

“I honestly feel selfish for enjoying LEFSA the way I have.  It was a very humbling experience that I will definitely cherish.  At LEFSA, I feel at home.  I always feel a sense of calm and serenity once the meetings start.

In the beginning, being homeless was depressing. I was angry, ashamed, and upset for being in that predicament. I had no relationship with God. One day, I came in early from work and went to the Rec Room and ...

It’s been our blessing to provide this service.  So many people have said to us, ‘we thought you were not coming out today, but it’s a blessing you are here for us.’  And we are there, every Monday, whether it’s cold or warm outside.

I was in a shelter at Ward Island and one week I was told about a gathering, where they give us food and talk to us.  At the time, my mom had cervical cancer.  She was my partner and confidant.  When I met James,

I arrived at Lenox Hill Shelter for Women in July 2008, feeling sickly and weak. Sorrow had taken the place of joy, because of my dire circumstances. At least one and a half years earlier I had undergone a year-long treatment of chemotherapy.

When I was at a very low point in my life, someone invited me to the LEFSA Women’s Group. Fortunately, I was not working that day,

“The retreat was beautiful and overwhelming.  The people that I met, the staff, the team, the ladies and the men and Martindale—everyone touched my heart deeply.  I was invited by Georgia and Pamela,

“I met LEFSA in 2004.  I’d been staying at New Providence Women’s Shelter and was on my way to sign out, and I heard gospel songs, like my mom used to sing.  Sr. Dorothy walked up to me and invited me in.

It was 2011 when I first entered LEFSA’s Men’s Spiritual Development Group. I happened to hear some men talking about it at St. Bart’s Soup Kitchen and decided to join them the following day. 

LEFSA gave me my life back. It didn’t just give me my life back, it gave me my family’s life back too. Because when I got better, my family got better also. And not only did my family get better, but my community got a little better.

I’d been at Franklin Women’s Shelter and was feeling depressed and down. I was sitting in the corner and didn’t have a sense of direction or know which way to go. I had been working in-home care, 

“I got involved with LEFSA though my sister, Althea, about 6 years ago.  I attended the LEFSA picnic and was amazed by how many people were there—by the food, camaraderie and the whole good feeling you got. ”

A couple of weeks after I moved out of the shelter and into my apartment, I was confined to a wheelchair. One night while coming home, a lady smiled at me and said: “you need LEFSA.” Somehow she knew

Let me begin by introducing myself. My name is Mario and I’m a 54 year old Dominican raised in West Harlem. I met LEFSA while living in the Boulevard Men’s Shelter on Lexington Avenue. Let me say it’s a very dark place,

Thank you to all of the members of LEFSA for welcoming us into your phenomenal community.  Each and every one of you is inspiring, and what you do is extraordinary.

I became affiliated with LEFSA in 2011 when I was living in Lenox Hill Women’s Shelter on Park Avenue. I always believed in God and that all people are children of God. Every week I looked forward to LEFSA coming to the shelter.

If you can envision two white nuns, neatly dressed with religious pins on the fronts of their blouses, wearing sneakers, and pulling shopping carts through the streets of Harlem, those were Sr. Dorothy Gallant and Sr. Teresa Skehan.