In the nearly six months since Christ House reopened its doors following
a brief renovation, the 180-year-old brick building has been offering
the comforts of a real home.
Eleven residents of the Alexandria shelter currently sleep in renovated bedrooms,
wash their clothes in the laundry room down the hall and occasionally catch an
NCAA basketball game in the second-floor lounge. The permanent presence of these
residents is the first since the building temporarily suspended its shelter program
in 2003 due to financial reasons, and they are finding that Christ House offers
more than just a bed for the night.
In addition to providing evening meals and bagged lunches, Christ House has begun
offering job mentoring, a monthly Mass (with hopes of making it weekly) and — starting
next week — spiritual guidance.
According to case manager Tom Bransfield, counselors visit Christ House every
Saturday morning to help residents focus their job searches. They help identify
the residents’ strengths and hone in on positions for which they may be
suited.
“They’re very proactive in getting to know what you want to do with
your career,” said one resident, Mike (name has been changed).
Very involved with Christ House’s goings-on, Mike takes advantage of the
job mentoring as well as spiritual growth opportunities. In fact, it was his
idea — voiced in a weekly meeting with residents and staff — that
encouraged Bransfield to look into making monthly spiritual counseling and confession
available.
After some correspondence with nearby St. Mary Parish in Alexandria, it was decided
that a priest will visit the shelter regularly to offer its residents that spiritual
nourishment.
“A lot of people need that kind of spiritual counseling to pick themselves
up and keep moving forward,” Bransfield said. “This right here is
kind of one step above rock bottom.”
As much as spiritual opportunities mean to Mike, he is perhaps more impressed
with the involvement that he — and all the residents — are able to
have in the decision-making at the shelter.
Living at Christ House has been a very “give and take” experience,
Mike said — and nothing like what he was expecting. Before he moved in,
he had nightmares.
“I had all these images in my mind,” he said. “I was expecting
(the staff) to be here just to run the household and take care of major issues.
It’s not been like that at all.”
Instead the doors to the managers’ offices are always open, making Christ
House unique in its operation.
It’s very “resident-centered,” said Steve Luteran, director
of Catholic Charities. “We want the residents to be able to also provide
a lot of self-instruction for each other and a lot of support.”
After observing the work that Catholic Charities puts into Christ House, Mike
said he has realized how remiss he has been in his own work for others.
“It helps me realize that with all the bad luck that I have had that there
are good people out there willing to give their time and resources to come in
and make sure we’re taken care of,” he said. “It’s made
me look at myself and realize as much as I’ve had in the past, I’ve
neglected to give my share. When I get back on my feet, my life is going to be
different.”
And that’s really the goal, said Luteran — for the lives of their
residents to change, and for them to become self-sufficient and better people.
“It’s about their lives not about ours,” he said. “(Christ
House) is their home. We are the workers that are coming into their home.”
Christ House and Catholic Charities receive some funding through the Bishop’s
Lenten Appeal.
Gretchen R. Crowe can be reached at gcrowe@catholicherald.com.
