The Helen Wright Center for Women has provided food, genuine care, and safe shelter to women without children for years. Through intensive case management services, the Center offers its guests an opportunity to break the cycle of homelessness and achieve self-sufficiency. Ashan James is coordinating the St. Francis ministry associated with the Saturday night dinner at the Center after taking over that responsibility from his brother, Akash, this past summer. St Francis also participates in a Wednesday night dinner coordinated by Lisa Demuynk and Kate Griffith.
“It’s hard to explain the feeling of gratitude that I feel every month when people drop off food for the Center,” says Ashan. He feels the St. Francis community is incredibly generous in providing for their ministries. “I am always overwhelmed,” he says, “by how truly happy our church community is to give. The people that drop food off and serve the food at the Center are genuinely committed to being agents of God’s love, and that love is reflected in the gratitude of the women we serve.”
When asked what inspired his family’s work there, Ashan recalls, “I was once taught about the Works of Mercy, both Corporal and Spiritual. Serving at the Helen Wright Center is a Corporal Work of Mercy; we are called as Catholics to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, and shelter the homeless. We help the Helen Wright Center do that for women experiencing food and housing insecurities.”
St. Francis has been serving a warm meal to the women of this shelter for over twenty years, reflecting the words Jesus said in Matthew 25:35, ‘For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty, and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you made me welcome.’ “Currently,” Ashan says, “we are providing dinner for 70 women every second Saturday and third Wednesday of each month.” To find out more or to volunteer, Ashan coordinates the Saturday meals, and Lisa Demuynk and Kate Griffith coordinate on Wednesdays. Please see their contact information and opportunities here.