James, LEFSA Team Member
Feeling alive again
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. I did not know what to expect, but they told me that I could get a good meal and a metro card to travel around the city. I was living on the streets of midtown Manhattan and was mentally and spiritually wounded.
The next day, I went to the Leadership Study Day meeting and was not sure what to make of this group of people. After a few more meetings and as the months moved by, I discovered a very unique group of individuals who opened their arms to everyone who were willing to just stay around and be nourished with unconditional love.
LEFSA helped me to feel alive again and gave me hope.
I used this opportunity to let the team as well as the LEFSA community help me to achieve goals in life, set up a positive support system such as the team enrichment group, Men’s retreat, Leadership Study Day, Catholic Charities EOP (Educational Outreach Program), spiritual insight and all the unconditional love that I could handle in a group setting.
Today as team members, I am finally doing something that makes sense in my life for the community. It is a feeling that I cannot describe or explain. This is the good stuff that I always needed in my life and you can have the same opportunity to experience it also. See you soon!!!!
Related Stories
Read what LEFSA participants, team members, and volunteers have to say.
Lisa
Lisa - Bringing out the love
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.
Timothy
They’ve seen their father become someone
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.
Janet
Support, encouragement and care
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.
Amoy Chung
Encouraging and uplifting each other
“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.
Lucy, LEFSA Housing Advocate
Food for the soul
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 ...
James Butler
It’s a blessing
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.
Johnnie
A beautiful and warm feeling
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,
Joan B.
Testimony to ministry
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.
Jorjina
LEFSA as a Family
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,
Grace
God had something for me
“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,
Debbie Canty
We are always here
“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.
James, LEFSA Team Member
Feeling alive again
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.
Donna
Drawn to the positivity
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,
Cameron
Feeling at home
“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. ”
John Wesley Mitchell
Little Miracles
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
Mario Pimentel
Finding Faith Again with LEFSA
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,
Brittany Robert
Inspirational and life changing
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.
Althea Craig-Morelli
Reconnected Through LEFSA
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.
Iris Sankey-Lewis
Living is giving
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.