Sisters and Associates prepared lunches for the annual Homeless Count. Our partners in ministry, Many Mansions, spearhead this effort in the Thousand Oaks area as part of the wider Department of Housing an Urban Development (HUD) Homeless Assessment. This count helps us fund programs like local homeless shelters, permanent supportive housing, rental assistance programs, street outreach, and much more. As you can see, our SNDs and Associates packed these lunches with smiles and prayers.
Sr. Lisa Megaffin and Associate Kevin McNamara were among the volunteers who interviewed the homeless persons. Sr. Lisa reflected on her experience:
Most likely you have seen the plight of a homeless individual. For those of us living in California, this social tragedy seems ever present. Last week, I was privileged to participate in the annual homeless count as mandated by HUD, a count of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on a single day in January. Here are two of the individuals that SND Associate Kevin McNamara and I encountered. We gave each person we met a bag lunch, provided by our SND Associates. On the left, Kevin gently awakens a gentleman in his late 30’s who was curled up in a sleeping bag in Thousand Oaks; on the bottom right of the photo is a bag of day-old bread that he discovered outside a local market. He is a veteran and has done jail time for public intoxication. On the right is Henry who spent the night behind a storage unit. He is in his late 20’s, a native of Ventura and someone who has aged out of the foster care system.
When we as Sisters of Notre Dame commit ourselves to share the love of our good and provident God, we discover innumerable opportunities in our midst. Thank you for being our partners through your encouragement and spiritual and financial support. Many hands and many hearts work miracles–as we see in Henry’s broad smile very early on a cold January morning.
Learn more about Many Mansions .
Learn more about the Count of Homeless Persons.