Then and Now
“The poor you have always with you.”
How sad it must have made Jesus to say that, even though, while saying it, he honored the woman who had sacrificed her expensive oils to anoint his feet. Countless people are kept from education, adequate health care, good housing and employment that would sustain them, by forces beyond their control – forces both human and circumstantial. This has been a concern of caring people everywhere, of every race and creed. For the Sisters of the Holy Family, the focus of their efforts to alleviate the crushing burdens of poverty has been families.
In 1878 the sisters began their Day Home ministry for the children of the working poor — a safe, educational, social place for the day care of young children. Today, through scholarship grants for the education of care-givers, and other kinds of financial aid, the sisters continue to support this vital ministry even though the Day Homes no longer belong to the sisters, but to themselves. With a sliding scale for payment of services, and wrap-around social services for parents and children, the early vision continues in exciting ways. Under the direction of gifted people, who carry the spirit and meaning of the work into the future, the Day Home ministry continues to support needy families and their cherished children.
