BY NADIA POZO
CS&T Staff Writer
The friendships forged between YouFra members and the men of St. John Hospice have given both groups the opportunity to serve, and to love one another, according to YouFra’s service minister Caroline Horstmann.
For the past two years YouFra, the young adult group dedicated to following the precepts of the Catholic Church emulated by St. Francis of Assisi, has been visiting the men of St. John Hospice.
St. John’s is a residential facility for homeless men, which also serves the street population.
At first, the group’s members went to the hospice to fill a specific need: The men needed fellowship — people to interact with on a regular basis. But soon their visits became more than that, Horstmann said.
“It’s different from other service projects, because it’s more than going to help — these guys are our friends,” Horstmann said.
That’s why, this Christmas, the YouFra members want to do something special for their brothers. They want to provide all 40 men who live at St. John’s with new workboots.
Horstmann will be speaking after all the Sunday Masses at her parish, St. John the Evangelist, on Nov. 13, to inform her fellow parishioners about the project.
The group’s goal is to raise $2,400 for 40 new boots — one pair for each of the men.
“We really care for these guys, so we want to give them more than just donated boots that may or may not fit,” Horstmann said. “We want to give them new boots, especially sized for them.”
The men of St. John Hospice have faced many challenges, and are now looking for a second chance in their lives. At St. John’s, along with a place to live, they receive goal-oriented case management, life-skills education, and the emotional support they need to become fully independent.
The hospice also provides men living on the streets with weekday lunches and holiday meals, clothing and showers, Post Office Boxes, and short-term case management services, in an effort to get them off the streets.
The Good Shepherd Program, which is also offered through St. John’s, provides housing for medically fragile men; the program includes intense case management, to guide each resident to a successful recovery.
“Following the charism of St. Francis ... means to love in action,” Horstmann said. “It’s spending time with God, and then bringing that love into the world. It’s a calling to touch the world. It’s not just to read about the poor but to really be with them.”
That call motivated the young adults when they began serving meals to the men at St. John’s, and providing them with various forms of entertainment, including karaoke, movie nights, board games — and a game of frisbee.
“We had a bake-off one time, and we found out that one of the men had gone to culinary school,” Horstmann said. “We told him we wanted to try his cooking, and he told us he was cooking Sunday brunch and asked us to come.”
At the brunch, the men served the meal to the YouFra members — an experience that touched the residents at St. John’s, giving them an opportunity to serve those who serve them.
“It takes something to build relationships, and these men have realized that we’re sticking around,” Horstmann said.
For the men, YouFra has been a God-send, said the St. John’s Hospice volunteer coordinator Beth Bresnan.
“I’m not normally here in the evening when the young adults come, but I can tell you what the men say about them,” Bresnan said. “They love these people. They can’t wait for the time they come. They never know what YouFra will bring for entertainment so they get a kick out of the suspense. Some of the men have made personal friends.”
Bresnan says she can’t say enough about the special group of young people who have brought light into the lives of the hospice residents.
“What they’re doing is exactly what I dreamed about when I was thinking of creating some fun for the men that live here,” she said.
“They say it’s the thought that counts. For these guys, it really is the thought that’s missing from their lives.”
To learn more about St. John Hospice call Beth Bresnan at (215) 563-7763. To donate to Boots for our Brothers, e-mail Caroline Horstmann at caroline@pobox.com or call (267) 226-2116.
CS&T staff writer Nadia Pozo can be reached at npozo@adphila.org or (215) 965-4614.