“I’ve never looked back.”

Lenaur’s story

For 18 years, Lenaur Phillip was a professional cook. “It was hours on my feet for low pay, but I loved my job, and I was good at it,” she recalled.
But by 2016, serious chronic medical issues made it impossible for her to work in a kitchen. “I’d always had a backup plan, but it was as if I hit a brick wall. I lost my job. I lost my apartment.”

Suddenly on the streets, Lenaur spent two weeks at the Weinberg Housing and Resource Center, run by Catholic Charities, before being accepted into Marian House, a transitional housing program for women run by the Sisters of Mercy and the School Sisters of Notre Dame. There, she learned about the 12-week Learn to Earn clerical internship program at Catholic Charities’ My Sister’s Place Women’s Center. She volunteered at the front desk while waiting for the program to begin. When a job at that desk became available a little more than a year ago, Lenaur didn’t think she was qualified. But she was hired. Now she works at both My Sister’s Place and My Sister’s Place Lodge.

“They saw something in me, and I’ve never looked back,” she said.

Lenaur now has her own apartment. Despite her health problems, she is always there for her clients. She understands that her experience helps her in the work she does each day. “I have a good rapport with the ladies there,” she shared. “I know what it’s like for them. Sometimes they just need someone to listen and acknowledge that they’re there.”

Lenaur sees the challenges that brought her here as a gift. “I was my job when I was a cook. There wasn’t a ‘me.’ I was just a cook. By the end of the day, when my knees gave out or I had issues, I was replaceable. Here I have a unique identity. They miss me when I’m not here. That makes me feel good. I’ve never felt that before.

“I feel like I’m part of what makes things work here, and that gives me a purpose.”

“I have the potential to accomplish something.”

Michael’s story

The hiring market in Baltimore has boomed in recent years, but Michael Blake knew most of those opportunities weren’t for him. He’d worked many jobs, but all under the table. “I dropped out of school and got into a little bit of trouble when I was younger,” he recalled. “I did another job training program, but with my record, the jobs they lined up wouldn’t hire me.”

The 21-year-old was living in a halfway house about a year ago when he learned about the Job Ready program at Catholic Charities’ St. Edward’s Workforce Development Center. He signed up just to have something to do. Then he saw how good the opportunities were.

When he completed the two-week program, the St. Edward’s team encouraged him to attend an open hiring event at Our Daily Bread Employment Center for Johns Hopkins Hospital. He landed a position on the facilities team in the pediatrics department.

“Ever since I went through the program, my life has been a lot easier,” Michael said. “I don’t have to do other things to get money. I have an honest job. I get a paycheck, and can take care of me and my family.

“I learned that I had the potential to accomplish something. I get up in the morning and I know that I’m needed.”

Michael continues to touch base with the St. Edward’s team as works toward his next goals: getting his GED and driver’s license, going to college.

“I tell my buddies, friends on the street, when you fall you can always get back up. It’s just, do you want to get back up? And you’ve got to strive. With Catholic Charities, you had to do the work. You had to earn it. They saw in me that I was really trying to change. God works in mysterious ways—they were there when I needed them, and now I’ve got a good job. It’s a good thing that Catholic Charities came into my life. It’s changed the outcome of my future. I went the other way instead of going back to the streets.”

“I’m focused on bringing me back.”

Kathleen’s story

When Kathleen Kirkpatrick’s plane touched down on the snowy tarmac at BWI, she felt hopeful. She had lost everything in the financial crash of 2008—a career in banking, a home in suburban Charlotte, NC. Her only idea about how to fix things was to get a job. She thought she’d landed one. The company sent her a ticket to Baltimore. But when the snow kept her job contact from flying in for the interview, she had no money and nowhere to go. She spent 10 days at BWI, then asked airport security for help.

That began a journey that took her places she never expected to go. Anne Arundel County Social Services connected her with Sarah’s House, a Catholic Charities supportive housing program. “I got off the bus,” Kathleen recalled, “and I didn’t know where I was. I couldn’t see through the snow. I called the office, and a voice said, ‘Kathleen, look up. I’m coming to get you.’”

At Sarah’s House, a Catholic Charities Project SERVE volunteer helped her apply for Starner Hill, our senior community in Western Maryland. With a few pieces of donated furniture and one suitcase, she started rebuilding her life. She got a job at Garrett County Social Services and helped others as she made rural Grantsville her home for seven and a half years.

“It was a safe haven,” she remembered. “When I had money, I had tons of friends. None when I lost everything. I even lost contact with my children for a while. Now I’m just focused on bringing me back.”

She saved every penny, and the Starner Hill team helped her access services like health care.

Today, Kathleen lives in a beautiful apartment in the new Catholic Charities community of Village Crossroads II in Baltimore County, where she volunteers at the community food pantry, can walk to the supermarket, and takes a short cab ride to shops on The Avenue.

“Grantsville was a place for me to heal,” she said. “This is a place for me to get back to a normal life. I have a wonderful life.”

“We never lost hope.”

Blanca De La O and the Amador Family’s story

For her entire life, Blanca De La O has sought safety and peace. Her mother sent her from war-torn El Salvador to live with her grandmother in Honduras. There, Blanca’s life was a back-breaking, night-and-day grind of manual labor. Soon, she had children, and their education became her first priority. “My mom couldn’t read or write in Spanish,” said her oldest son, Carlos. “She wanted us to have an education and a better life.”

In 2001, a desperate Blanca endured a harrowing journey to the United States. She arrived owing a huge debt to the “coyote” who smuggled her into the country, and her family was having trouble coming up with the money. Knowing what had happened to some who couldn’t pay, Blanca feared she’d be raped or murdered.

Once she settled in Maryland and began to work, Blanca sent for her children. First 10-year-old Selvin arrived. A few months later, Carlos, 13, and Riccy, 7, followed with their father.

Blanca began coming to the Esperanza Center for English lessons, and for medical services for the children. But when she got a deportation order, things seemed hopeless. “I was afraid not because it was bad for me, but for my children,” she said.
And then, another crisis: a particularly violent assault by her husband.

The experts at the Esperanza Center helped her secure a visa for herself and her children through a program for crime victims and their immediate family. Today, Blanca loves her job caring for retired School Sisters of Notre Dame at Villa Assumpta. And her dream for her children has come true. Carlos graduated with honors from Loyola University and is attending the School of Pharmacy at Notre Dame of Maryland University. Selvin also received a full academic scholarship to Loyola, where he is majoring in physics and math. Riccy will enter Loyola as a freshman this year. They credit the Esperanza Center for making it possible.

“What I think people should take away from our story is that you should never give up,” said Riccy. “Our family faced so many problems, but we never lost hope.”

“They support us as individuals.”

Kenice & Eileen’s story

Kenice Fleming came to Gallagher Services at age 8. Now 52, she is amazed at all she has accomplished as a member of the Gallagher community, where she was a pioneer of independent living. “I have my own apartment,” she said. “I never expected that. I didn’t know I could handle it, but I do well. I take care of myself. I love to learn new things. I want to do anything new and challenging.”

For the past 10 years, Kenice and her best friend, Eileen Williamson, have been valued members of the dining room team at Stella Maris, a nursing home in Baltimore County. The two met through the Gallagher program. Their support team helps them tap into activities they can do together. They love drama class and performing. Kenice won first prize for her Tina Turner impression. Each has a shelf of trophies proving their talent as league bowlers. Eileen planned their excursion to North Carolina. When they talk about their lives and goals for the future, the stories and the laughter come fast and furious. Eileen explained: “At Gallagher, people love to have fun.”

Eileen and her housemates volunteer to feed individuals experiencing homelessness. She and Kenice share a desire to be of service. But they also are proud that they are able to earn the money they need to do the things that interest them.

When they talk about the help they get from their support team at Gallagher, it’s with great affection. “They are our family when we’re away from our family,” Kenice said. “They support us as individuals. They really take care of us.”

They are committed to giving their work family the same level of dedication and care that they receive from their Gallagher family. “I don’t like to miss work—how am I going to stay home when people need me?” Kenice insisted. “I like my job, my friends and my co-workers.”

Eileen chimed in: “Like me!”

“When you’re surrounded with love, it makes a difference.”

Percy’s story

Percy Poindexter’s years haven’t dimmed his bright smile, the twinkle in his eye, or his sense of style. He’s retired from construction. He raised four daughters and spent his downtime outdoors, fishing. “I liked to go places, see different people—that was me!” he recalled.

Recently, declining health made it difficult for Percy to live on his own. A doctor’s visit led to a referral to an Alzheimer’s clinic. As his memory and eyesight deteriorated, Percy’s world grew smaller. He found himself dozing in front of the television all day. Unable to be himself, he said, his days grew lonely and boring. His sister, Shirley Brown, knew something needed to change, but she wanted her dapper younger brother to have the same loving care she’d given her husband during his long illness. Shirley wanted Percy to be home. She moved him in with her. But she needed help – and he needed more.

“I had to get him into something that would keep him going,” she said.

Shirley learned about St. Ann Adult Day Services from staff at the Catholic Charities senior community where her sister lives. Now Percy comes to the day program twice a week. He dances with the ladies. He plays Gin Rummy, Tonk and Pitty Pat with another gentleman. And he is happier.

“I get there and meet everybody, and it makes my day,” he said. “As soon as I wake up, I’m ready to come.”

After just one month, his sister and his doctor noticed he’d improved. And it’s good for Shirley, too. She feels supported by a network of people who care about her brother. She gets information to help with the new challenge of caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s Disease, and she gets some time to rest and take care of herself. Percy’s visits to St. Ann help him stay mentally active and make it easier for his sister to keep him at home. She summed it up simply.

“When you’re surrounded with love, it makes a difference.”