Franciscan Outreach Association 

1645 W. LeMoyne Street, Chicago, IL 60622

Telephone (773)278-6724 

 

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What's New?

What's New Archives for 

November 5, 2002 to January 28, 2003

For the week of January 21 & 28, 2003 - Case Management Statistics for 2002

Here are the year-end numbers for our Case Management Program in 2002:

Case management clients: 1,228

(In 2001 there were 1,135.)

One-on-one contacts between a guest and a case manager:  5,646

(In 2001 there were 5,105.)

Issues addressed in meetings between guests and case managers: 7,178

(In 2001 there were 5,974.)

We've increased our services in 2002, but there is still a long way to go. Only approximately 17% of our guests received case management services from one of our case managers last year. Pray that we can find a way to reach the others!

For the week of January 14, 2003 - A Story of St Francis...

Here's a little story about St. Francis of Assisi:

One day Francis was filled with joy because he was beginning to enjoy God in all creatures. He went through the streets singing and inviting everyone to sing along with him. Then he came upon an almond tree and he said, "Brother Almond, speak to me of God." And the almond tree blossomed.

                                     ~ An old Franciscan legend

from: Through the Year With St. Francis of Assisi: Daily Meditations from His Words and Life, Selected and Translated by Murray Bodo, Published by St. Anthony Messenger Press, 1993. Available from St. Anthony Messenger Press: www.americancatholic.org

At Franciscan Outreach, we value every person who comes to our doors as a beloved creation of God. By their very existence, each one speaks to us of God in their own way. Volunteer with us and see what we mean! 

For the week of January 7, 2003 - The 2002 Numbers are In!

Here are some of our year-end statistics for 2002.

Shelter nights:

• in 1998 we provided 85,293

• in 2001 we provided 87,933

• in 2002 we provided 89,373

Meals at the shelter:

• in 1998 we estimated that we provided 144,983

• in 2001 we estimated that we provided 158,954

• in 2002 we made a better estimate and arrived at 152,700

Meals at the soup kitchen:

• in 1998 we provided 61,483

• in 2001 we provided 52,478

• in 2002, despite being closed on weekends for part of November and December, we served 47,182

Showers at the Marquard Center:

• in 1998 we provided 898

• in 2001 we provided 1,068

• in 2002 we provided 1,240

Bags of laundry washed:

• in 1998 we washed 1,149

• in 2001 we washed 1,095

• in 2002 we washed 830

Our final Turn-Away rate for the shelter for 2002 was 1,406. That's the number of times we had to turn someone away because we were filled to capacity. It is up from 1,190 last year and 333 in 1998.

Watch future What's New postings for our 2002 case management statistics.

In other news ... Training sessions will soon be starting for anyone interested in learning to make presentations about Franciscan Outreach to groups such as church groups and school groups. The first session will be on January 15. Two volunteers have already signed up.  For more info, email Diana at diana@franoutreach.org or call her at (773) 278-6724.

For the week of December 31 - Holidays at the Marquard Center

Over the Christmas holidays, the Marquard Center has been busy! We have...

• given out over 300 coats

• given out hundreds of hats and gloves

• sponsored 12 families with Christmas gifts (at least 100 people total!)

• distributed other gifts brought in by various church groups

• received volunteer help from our friends at the Jewish Federation

• supplied food, respect, dignity, and hope seven days a week to the hundreds of men, women and children who come to our doors!

Thanks to all those who supported these efforts. Everyone who has donated time, funds, gifts, or food is able to take credit for all the good work that goes on here. Thank you!

For the week of December 24 - The Incarnation: Still a Happenin' Thing

Here's an excerpt from the Christmas letter of Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, OFM, a friar who is a friend of Franciscan Outreach He wrote:

Christmas is upon us again, that wonderful season of "light shining in the darkness," of God's love taking on our human flesh. In his book, The Holy Longing, a book I would recommend to anyone and everyone, Ronald Rolheiser writes about the Incarnation and how it is the most misunderstood yet central mystery of Christianity. Most people think of the Incarnation taking place some 2,000 years ago, lasting for about thirty-three years until Jesus died on the cross, rose from the dead and then ascended physically into heaven.

What is wrong with this? It is all in the past tense. Yet, the incarnation is still going on, and it is just as real and as radically physical as when Jesus of Nazareth, in the flesh, walked the dirt roads of Palestine. It continues through the body of Christ, the physical reality of all of us joined together in Christ. Just as Christ reached out to the poor, to the sick, to the outcasts of his day, the Incarnation continues when we reach out to the poor, to the sick, and to the outcasts of our day. Just as Christ came to forgive the sins of the people with whom he lived, we continue the work of reconciling men and women to God through our gift of forgiveness.

Thank you for bringing your love and the love of Christ to all those who line up at our doors for food, shelter, and assistance. May all of you have a blessed Christmas season!

For the week of December 17 - Empty Bowls Event Raises Awareness and $

     On Saturday, December 7, the Art as a Social Force Class of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago hosted an "Empty Bowls" event to raise awareness of hunger issues. The aspiring artists created a relaxed and interesting atmosphere at the Cuentos Foundation's studio on North Clark Street.

    During the evening, participants could:

• dine on homemade soup, bread, tea, and cider

• purchase a bowl made by one of the students

• talk with the artists and each other about the art they've created

• look at photos from the FOA dining room

• try their hand at making a bowl out of clay

• learn about homelessness and hunger from a representative of FOA

• experience the interesting and varied artwork in the Cuentos Foundation's studio

• read one of the many quotes about hunger and social action that the students had collected and hung around the room

• choose their favorite quote and take it home

     A total of $253 was raised by the event for Franciscan Outreach. Thank you to Michelle Feder-Nadoff, of the Cuentos Foundation, who taught the class and provided the forum for the  the event. Thanks also to all the students in the class, especially Marisa Heilman, who had volunteered at our dining room with her church and invited us to participate, and to Alyce Ornella, who took the photos you see here.

     To learn more about an Empty Bowls event, visit www.emptybowls.net. To host an empty bowls event for the benefit of Franciscan Outreach, e-mail Diana at diana@franoutreach.org

For the week of December 10 -  Two New Staff - Barry and Patrick!

Weekend Dinner Service at the Marquard Center

to Resume this Weekend!

Thanks to the generous support of a large donation from an individual, a collection from Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, the Crystal Lake Secular Franciscan Fraternity, and several individual donors, we have received enough funds to hire an Assistant Manager for the Marquard Center. Our weekend dinner service will resume this weekend! Our new Assistant Manager is Patrick McMahon. Welcome Pat! Thanks to everyone who sacrificed so that the homeless may eat!

A New Director of Operations

at Franciscan House of Mary & Joseph!

We are pleased to announce that Barry Steele has joined our staff as the new Director of Operations at the shelter. He takes the position vacated by Bill Baerentzen, who has left to work as a street crisis outreach worker. Barry comes to us after 13 years with a shelter for teens where he worked his way up from a Residential Coordinator to the Program Director. Barry brings a wealth of management and program experience to our shelter. We are proud to have him on board. Welcome Barry!

Barry Steele		Patrick McMahon

For the week of November 25 & December 3 - Christmas gifts needed!

Here's a letter from Fr. Manny, the Manager of the Marquard Center soup kitchen...

Dear What's New readers,

"Tis the season to be merry..." Yes. The season of light and Our Savior's birth, of giving and sharing is upon us again. This year, with the economy in such a desperate way, we find our selves with very limited resources and very little to fall back on. The demands on us, though, are not in a limited state. Already, several families have contacted us for assistance this Christmas. Blessedly, we and a few generous donors are able to provide for most of these families. However, there are families that we cannot support on our own - and there will be more families to come.

This is where we ask our devoted and dedicated readers to come to the aid of those who are suffering most. We are seeking assistance to provide a Merry Christmas for all.

If you are able, we ask for gifts such as dolls, trucks, games, educational toys, books, gift certificates for department stores to purchase children's clothing, and certificates for grocery stores. We'd like to have enough for all this Christmas. Please leave your gifts unwrapped so that we can give them out to the right recipients.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me for further information. In advance, know you have our prayers and support. God bless us, one and all. Happy Holidays to you and yours.

Gratefully,

Fr. Manuel Borg

Manager, Marquard Center at Franciscan Outreach Association

frmanny@franoutreach/org  (773) 278-6724

For the week of November 19 - Our Turn Away Rate Keeps Going Up - Updated Dec. 11

    What's a "Turn Away Rate?" Our shelter can hold 250 persons each night. Last year, we provided 87,933 shelter nights to approximately 4,000 different individuals. While this is a lot of people, some nights there are more than 250 persons who come to our door seeking shelter. When this happens, we have to turn people away because we're filled. The summers are the most difficult because that's when the seasonal shelters are closed. However, we're even seeing high demand in the winters now.

     We're trying to find a way to hire more case managers so that we can move more guests on to a better life, free up bed space, and stop having to turn so many people away.

The number of times we've turned someone away from our shelter because we were filled  is as follows:

For week of November 12 - St. Francis in the Eyes of a 7th Grader

     If you were asked to give a speech in which you take on the persona of someone famous, who would you pick? Amy, a Seventh grader who's the daughter of someone who works here at Franciscan Outreach, had to do this for her Communication Arts class. She chose St. Francis of Assisi. The speech had to be given in the first person.

     After being introduced by a classmate, she said...

     Thank you for that wonderful introduction, Tom. As you all know, I am St. Francis. As a child I dreamt of being a knight. My father was a cloth merchant, so my dream came true. But when I got to battle, I got captured. So I had to go home.

     One night, a couple of years later, I saw a very poor person come into my father's store. I felt sorry for him and wanted to help him. So I gave him a few coins out of the money drawer. After that day, I always gave to the poor. I helped the lepers too.

     During my lifetime, I rebuilt 3 churches. I also stopped a war by singing a song. I know it sounds crazy but it actually worked. Please don't try this in the Middle-East. I tried to stop a war there, too. It didn't work. (But my followers are still there today.)

     My followers are called Franciscans. There have been millions of them over the last 800 years. Some of my followers have become saints themselves, while others have started animal shelters and homeless shelters all over the world. Franciscan Outreach Association is one of the many homeless shelters. It was started by a Franciscan priest, Fr. Phil Marquard, in his tireless effort to help the homeless.

     Thank you for being such a wonderful audience today. But before I leave, I would like to know how I got from the 13th Century to the 21st!

     Amy's teacher gave her an A! She gets an A from us, too, and a Prayer of St. Francis card for capturing the spirit of St. Francis in just a few words.

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