Passage Home is a non-profit organization in Wake County that assists youth, individuals, families, and veterans achieve self-sufficiency to break the multi-generational cycle of poverty. They offer housing and support services to include workforce development, specialized support for veterans, and specialized support for children within families experiencing homelessness through the nearly 100 units of affordable housing they own and manage throughout the county. Many people at St. Francis know and support Passage Home, including the families at Franciscan School, which holds a food drive every November to help families at Passage Home. Did you know that St. Francis of Assisi parish had a role in forming this charitable organization?
As Marianne Williams, a long-time parishioner, recalls, “In 1988, our relatively new pastor, Father David McBriar, asked my husband, Paul, chair of the ‘Social Concerns’ group, a precursor to the office of Peace and Justice, to speak with another parishioner, Jeanne Tedrow.” Jeanne Tedrow, who had expressed some interest in how St. Francis might become involved in helping homeless families in our community, had, on her own, purchased a two-family house in Southeast Raleigh to alleviate some of that suffering. Marianne continued, “Jeanne knew she needed some support, and so the ‘Social Concerns’ group invited parishioners to physically work on the house to prep it for the two families. Many folks responded and spent many weekends working on it. This effort elicited an inquiry from the nearby Lincoln Park Holiness Church about who we were and why we did the work.” Lincoln Park is a Pentecostal Holiness Church, with a predominantly Black congregation, and they saw what St. Francis was doing and asked if they could join this effort.
Jeanne remembers that time well as the two churches joined in partnership. “Momentum began as Bishop Eli Ratcliff Jr., from Holiness Church, and Fr. David McBriar formed a friendship and developed relationships between our two congregations. In 1991, we dedicated this transitional housing program under the name ‘Matthew House’, taking inspiration from Matthew’s Gospel Chapter 25, and formed a nonprofit faith-based community development corporation. The Matthew House program for homeless families became the first of many programs formed by Passage Home in partnership with its faith partners over the next few decades.”
From 1991 and beyond, Passage Home became known for its collaborative faith relationships, bringing Black and white congregations together in ministry and worship. St. Andrew’s Presbyterian, St. Mark’s Episcopal, and Method Road Baptist churches became part of this ministry. Jeanne says, “Programs such as Harriet’s House, a re-entry program for incarcerated women and their children as they earned release from prison, gained support from the community, the churches, and the legislature. Passage Home saw the need for affordable home ownership and rental options and began its work as a housing developer.”
“During this time, congregation ministers formed family support teams that encircled each family with basic support and ongoing relationships that enabled the families to thrive,” recalls Jeanne. “The organization grew from serving two families a year to more than 100, and they developed programs that served veterans through job training and housing support. Passage Home embraced its role as a community builder and identified the Raleigh Safety and Community Club, built by African Americans in the early 1950s, as a building in the community that had fallen into disrepair. Passage Home restored the building by working with community members, such as Ms. Bettie Jean Burrell and the Raleigh Safety and Community Club.” The Club is currently where community programming and Passage Home services are available. Passage Home continues to serve homeless families today, providing housing and job training assistance and affordable housing in hundreds of units across Wake County.
Jeanne says, “The driving force behind Passage Home’s growth was a sincere faith and desire to serve our community. With the support of church leaders, the lay ministry of each congregation sought ways to support those in our community who were in need. Fr. David would ask, ‘What is it that the city needs and how can we provide for these needs?’ St. Francis’ call and other congregations’ support of ecumenism across racial and social lines were unique at the time. This collaborative spirit supported Passage Home’s efforts to unite racially diverse congregations. We enjoyed visiting each other’s congregations and sharing worship services, and relationships formed in the service of this ministry and in living our faith!”
“Of course, homelessness has been persistent through the decades,” adds Marianne, “and families needed more than just a place to stay; they needed support in setting goals, getting job training, and caring for their children. Unfortunately, homelessness continues, and the recent phenomenally high rental rate increases have only exacerbated the problem.” Passage Home continues to provide basic necessities through public and private support. Jeanne points out an example of this public support: “Passage Home is Wake County’s Community Action Agency, a federally funded anti-poverty program, and continues to receive public, federal, and local funds to help house families and provide job training, food assistance, and access to child care.” These partnerships have proven to be very successful. “Over the years,” adds Jeanne, “the success has been measured by the hundreds of families that have received assistance. Children in homeless families have grown up, graduated from high school, and many have gone on to college or technical school. In many families, this assistance has helped to break the cycle of poverty.”
In the words of Pope Francis, in an excerpt from Evangelii Gaudium, “In all places and circumstances, Christians, with the help of their pastors, are called to hear the cry of the poor…. Seeing their poverty, hearing their cries and knowing their sufferings, we are scandalized because we know that there is enough food for everyone and that hunger is the result of a poor distribution of goods and income.” Parishioners can directly support Passage Home families as volunteers and through direct financial support to the organization. Through Passage Home, we can help the families most in need in our area. Jeanne says, “St. Francis can be an active voice to advocate for continued public support of these programs, as we continue to seek ways to be in relationship with the poor and those marginalized.”
From its first iteration as Matthew House, with the inspiration of Matthew’s Gospel, Passage Home calls us to remember Jesus’ exhortation to support those in need as our faithful service to Jesus himself: ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
