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, so I went. Knowing that there were people that had very similar experiences to my own and actually talking about them in a safe environment changed how I felt about myself, my faith, my situation, and my goals. I thank God for LEFSA every day! My favorite memory with LEFSA was my first Leadership Retreat in Ossining. The area was so beautiful and peaceful. Everyone was so welcoming. The nightly workshops, being able to create art, the Labyrinth walk… it was so powerful and amazing.
I want everyone to know that LEFSA is all about empowering people from all walks of life. LEFSA is about coming together as family, sharing our human experiences by faith.
Related Stories
Iris - 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. They began to give of their time, and were devoted for over fifty years in doing the Lord’s work. It was at “Harlem Two” ...
Read more
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, and Sr. Mary. You know you’re not going to come back the same, and I feel spiritually changed. I went up there because I knew God had something for me. When I reflected, I saw myself in everyone. God placed in my heart ...
Read more
Mario - Finding Faith Again
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, where you’re living in constant fear that you might be the next victim. As for myself, I thought I was caught up in a nightmare ...
Read more
Lucy - 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 walked in on a Life Sharing Community Gathering.
The gathering was on love, and it got me thinking about God’s love for me. I decided I would let these gatherings be my connection back to God ...
Read more
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, and my last client was a live-in situation, but after that client passed I couldn’t stay there and had to stay in a shelter. I didn’t know what to expect. All that I knew was...
Read more
Althea - 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. It was my dose of reality ...
Read more
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.
During the group everybody was talking about God, so I asked who God was and whether He was a person. Sr. Dorothy told me that God is love...
James A - Getting life back
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 dedicate my life to helping others who are caught up in this vicious cycle of poverty and of drug addiction and abuse ...
Read more