Sacred Shelter: 13 Journeys of Homelessness and Healing

by Susan Celia Greenfield (Editor)

Overview

An inside look at an interfaith program for the homeless in New York City, including in-depth stories of those who have graduated and made new lives.

In a metropolis like New York, homelessness can blend into the urban landscape. For Susan Greenfield, however, New York is the place where a community of resilient, remarkable individuals is yearning for a voice. Sacred Shelter follows the lives of thirteen formerly homeless people, all of whom have graduated from an interfaith life skills program for current and former homeless individuals in the city. Through interviews, these individuals share traumas from their youth, their experience with homelessness, and the healing they’ve discovered through community and faith.

Edna Humphrey talks about losing her grandparents, father, and sister to illness, accident, and abuse. Lisa Sperber discusses her bipolar disorder and her whiteness. Dennis Barton speaks about his unconventional path to becoming a first-generation college student and his journey to reconnect with his family. The memoirists share stories about youth, family, jobs, and love. They describe their experiences with racism, mental illness, sexual assault, and domestic violence. Each of the thirteen storytellers honestly expresses his or her broken-heartedness and how finding community and faith gave them hope to carry on.

Interspersed are reflections from program directors, clerics, mentors, and volunteers, including the cofounder of the program. While Sacred Shelter does not tackle the socioeconomic conditions and inequities that cause homelessness, it provides a voice for a demographic group that continues to suffer from systemic injustice and marginalization.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823281213
Publisher:	Fordham University Press
Publication date:	05/20/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	387
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Susan Celia Greenfield is a Professor of English at Fordham University; author of Mothering Daughters: Novels and the Politics of Family Romance, Frances Burney to Jane Austen; and co-editor of Inventing Maternity: Politics, Science, and Literature, 1650–1865.

Table of Contents

Editor’s Note ix

Background xi

Glossary and Names of Replicate Programs Represented in Sacred Shelter xiii

Introduction: Susan Celia Greenfield 1

Life Story: Nelson Prime 29

Life Story: James Arthur Addison (grad. 1993) 44

Reflection: Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky 61

Life Story: Black (Pseudonym) (grad. late 1990s) 65

Reflection: Stephanie Reid 77

Life Story: Dennis Barton (grad. 2002) 79

Reflection: Dawn Ravella, DMin 104

Life Story: Michelle Riddle (grad. 2003) 107

Reflection: Hope 127

Life Story: Edna Humphrey (grad. 2005) 130

Reflection: Ira Ben Wiseman 140

Life Story: Deborah Canty (grad. 2005) 142

Reflection: Jane Griffin 163

Life Story: Lisa Sperber (grad. 2007) 165

Reflection: Reverend Alistair Drummond 178

Life Story: Rodney Allen (grad. 2009) 181

Life Story: Akira (grad. 2009) 200

Reflection: Doug Mastin 222

Life Story: Sophia Worrell (grad. 2010) 224

Reflection: Terry Michaud 241

Life Story: Cindy (Pseudonym) (grad. 2011) 244

Reflection: Reverend Michelle Nickens 264

Life Story: Heidi Nissen (grad. 2013) 268

Making a Difference: Marc Greenberg 287

Crossing Boundaries and Listening for Conversion: George B. Horton 295

Acknowledgments 305

Notes 309

Editorial Reviews

Like the iconic image of a wounded and enduring Notre Dame, these stories of hope, suffering and redemption brought home to me the reality of the Paschal Mystery of this Easter time, the journey through dying to life.

Catholic New York - George Horton

Pain fills the pages of Sacred Shelter as contributors tell us about abuse, addiction, and death. They put their lives on display for the reader and from their vulnerability emerges literary art.

Blog // Los Angeles Review of Books

It is rare that one book provides a gripping, honest, unapologetic look at the lives and perspectives of individuals experiencing homelessness. Sacred Shelter does just that demanding a reader's immediate attention. After bearing witness to the truths captured in this book I was moved to deepen my intention to fight for affordable housing across the nation.

Afua Atta-Mensah

A powerful look beyond statistics and policy proposals, into the stories of people who have experienced homelessness, in their own words. These painful, honest, and ultimately hopeful stories--paired with reflections from religious leaders--inspire the reader to greater empathy and commitment.

Rabbi Jill Jacobs

Homelessness is not hopelessness–at least for the 13 individuals whose stories are told in Sacred Shelter. Personal empowerment; supportive community; God’s gracious presence are highlighted as key to these success stories of transformation and growth. The editor sensitively and capably allows these individuals’ own reality and narrative to emerge through their stories.

Msgr. Kevin Sullivan

...a must read for anyone who wants to understand the human tragedy of homelessness and the courage of those who transcend it.

Archways

Both the Torah and the New Testament instruct, 'love your neighbor as yourself.' This book’s stories of suffering and redemption show how real people live that commandment. Susan Greenfield has compiled stories and reflections that inspire, uplift and challenge. Sacred Shelter shares lessons about the power of love and perseverance, and about how, when we extend respect, kindness and hope to people our society rejects and scorns, we take huge steps closer to a more just and love-filled world for everyone.

Brian Purnell

A powerful look beyond statistics and policy proposals, into the stories of people who have experienced homelessness, in their own words. These painful, honest, and ultimately hopeful stories—paired with reflections from religious leaders—inspire the reader to greater empathy and commitment.

Jill Jacobs

...Read Sacred Shelter, Thirteen Journeys of Homelessness and Healing, edited by Susan Celia Greenfield. They're reminders that individuals can make a difference, through a program founded by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York in collaboration with the Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing, which will share the royalties with the Life Experience and Faith Sharing Associates.

The New York Times

Through faith, transformation and spiritual growth, more than 600 homeless people in New York have been propelled to a better life in recent decades thanks to the Education Outreach Program sponsored by archdiocesan Catholic Charities. Many of their stories are told in an inspiring new book called Sacred Shelter.

Catholic New York

If anyone has come to doubt that God is at work in the trenches of the poor, that redemption is possible for anyone, here is a book to refresh their convictions.

America Magazine

...Read Sacred Shelter, Thirteen Journeys of Homelessness and Healing, edited by Susan Celia Greenfield. They're reminders that individuals can make a difference, through a program founded by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York in collaboration with the Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing, which will share the royalties with the Life Experience and Faith Sharing Associates.

The New York Times

It is rare that one book provides a gripping, honest, unapologetic look at the lives and perspectives of individuals experiencing homelessness. Sacred Shelter does just that demanding a reader's immediate attention. After bearing witness to the truths captured in this book I was moved to deepen my intention to fight for affordable housing across the nation.—Afua Atta-Mensah, Esq., Executive Director, Community Voices Heard,

Homelessness is not hopelessness–at least for the 13 individuals whose stories are told in Sacred Shelter. Personal empowerment; supportive community; God’s gracious presence are highlighted as key to these success stories of transformation and growth. The editor sensitively and capably allows these individuals’ own reality and narrative to emerge through their stories.—Msgr. Kevin Sullivan, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York,

A powerful look beyond statistics and policy proposals, into the stories of people who have experienced homelessness, in their own words. These painful, honest, and ultimately hopeful stories—paired with reflections from religious leaders—inspire the reader to greater empathy and commitment.—Rabbi Jill Jacobs, Executive Director, T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights,

Both the Torah and the New Testament instruct, 'love your neighbor as yourself.' This book’s stories of suffering and redemption show how real people live that commandment. Susan Greenfield has compiled stories and reflections that inspire, uplift and challenge. Sacred Shelter shares lessons about the power of love and perseverance, and about how, when we extend respect, kindness and hope to people our society rejects and scorns, we take huge steps closer to a more just and love-filled world for everyone.—Brian Purnell, Geoffrey Canada Associate Professor of Africana Studies and History, Bowdoin College,

From the Publisher