Community Volunteers
Community Volunteers
St. John Bosco House functions not just with live-in Workers, but with a wide variety of volunteers. From committee members to folks who help with the lawn, there are many ways that people contribute.
We all serve for different reasons. We all come with different stories. Here are a few.
Ingrid Parmeter is one of the original members of the Lane County Catholic Worker and was pivotal in opening St. John Bosco House. She wrote this before Bosco House was a reality. She continues to be active with the community, and is frequently the first contact with potential live-in volunteers.
It was 10:00, Sunday night on 7th and Blair. The two girls were sitting with their backs against the wall, hanging out, not doing anything in particular. I stood at the door to Hollywood Video, taking in their clothes, faces and awkward slumped postures. Fifteen years old. The one on the right was stoned, but the one on the left looked bright-eyed and trusting. They were somewhat clean, so I figured they were crashing somewhere. Probably a friend's house, but then again, lots of older men will call a young girl their "friend" and let them stay for "free" in exchange for sex; a preciously expensive and demoralizing trade for the young woman
I was scared for them. These girls looked softer than the street kids I had worked with at Covenant House, which meant that they were either in temporary and possibly salvageable limbo, or they were on their way down into the abyss of street life; no one to feed them, no one to protect them, no one to care for them.
I talked to them for a while and asked them those blunt questions that I had
learned to throw out while working on the streets in Canada's largest, meanest
city. "Where are you staying? Is it safe?" A kid living on
the street has little need for polite banter.
At that moment I wanted a St. John Bosco House so badly you would think that God would just drop one down on my block in answer to the sheer desire in my spontaneous prayer. That night, they were going to get Taco Bell, but I was imagining making them burritos in a warm kitchen. I imagined loading them into my car and bringing them out to St. John Bosco House in the middle of the night. The door would be open, someone would be awake to talk to us, (with all those volunteer workers living there, someone would be bound to be a night owl). I would cook for the girls, mother them, and ply them with warm tea. "Where are your folks?" I would ask. "Whatcha' been up to?". After food they could fall asleep in a real bed with the kind of clean, crisp sheets that your grandmother might have. They could fall asleep somewhere safe.
A whole lot of questions came to mind. What if the girls couldn't be
helped? What if they didn't want to stay? What if they would rather
smoke pot and hang out on the mall than live with a bunch of Christian do-gooders?
But I imagine that night.....the one that never happened, and I feel such a sense of well-being, such a sense of being right with the world, that it seems that the vision is nothing short of a hint from God. So please, send us your prayers, send us your time, send us your donations. At the St. John Bosco House that is waiting to be, the tea is on and I am getting ready to make burritos.
-Ingrid Parmeter
Tara Barsotti is a 2nd grade teacher at O'Hara Catholic School. She visits the house weekly to help with our kids.
Volunteering at the St. John Bosco House is always a highlight of my week. The women living at the Bosco House are wonderful people. I enjoy their company and the time we share together. Their compassion, resourcefulness, hope, and love are an example for others.
Jon Jablonski is a librarian. He is a member of our Board of Directors.
For a long time I have tried to live with a consistant set of values. Unfortunately, too often I was passive: my values were more about what I said I believed instead of what actions I took in support of those beliefs. I knew there were more active ways to witness. I even knew that the Catholic Worker would probably be a good fit, but just kept putting it off.
I can't say that any conversion experience made me call Bosco House. I wasn't riding a horse to Damascus. I just finally made good on my Sunday promise to take some action during the week. I called the house and the Worker told me about an upcoming meeting, and that if I attended, I would learn a lot more about what Lane County Catholic Worker was all about. Next thing I knew I was mowing the lawn, fixing the clothes dryer, and sitting on the Board of Directors.
What keeps me coming back is every bit of effort helps. I keep realizing that for women who haven't had access to safe and dependable housing, having someone stop by once in a while seems to make a real difference. They see that someone cares enough to spend their 'leisure time' doing something for others. It is a simple thing, but I believe that these simple acts of service make a difference.