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Camillus House News
Remarks of Dr. Paul R. Ahr
President and CEO, Camillus House, Inc.
FPL Group Foundation Gift Announcement
12-18-08
Welcome, welcome, welcome. Welcome to our Courtyard Program, the place where Camillus meets the street. I am so delighted that you are with us today to observe first hand the groundbreaking and breathtaking effect this program is having on the face of homelessness in downtown Miami. In 2008 alone, this place of sanctuary has been a place of renewal for more 700 persons who have been living on the streets of Miami.
Writing about the Middle Ages houses of sanctuary – the monasteries – Joan Chittister notes that after a trip through hard terrain and hot sun, guests were given physical comfort and a good meal, instruction and guidance and human support. Making this 11th Century practice relevant in the 21st Century, this is the welcome that can be expected by every homeless person who seeks sanctuary here.
“It isn’t so much what we do for those curious others in our lives, the strange, the needy, the unscrubbed,” Chittister writes, “as it is the way we do it. We can give people charity or we can give them attention. We can give them the necessities of life, or we can give them its joys.”
At Camillus, we happily give them both the necessities of life and its joys.
“Those who have been thrown upon the mercy of the world are the gauge of our open hearts,” she continues. “It is an important distinction in a culture in which strangers are ignored and self-sufficiency is considered a sign of virtue and poverty a synonym for failure. Hospitality for us may as much involve a change in attitudes and perspectives as it does a handout. ...hospitality may demand that we work to change things.”
One Florida organization that has worked tirelessly to change things to improve the lives of all who need a hand has been the Florida Power and Light Company, and I am personally delighted that the FPL Group Foundation contribution to the Camillus House Open the Door to Hope Campaign will be memorialized in this community by the FPL Welcome Center. For persons who are homeless in Miami and seek our care, this Welcome Center will be that Door to Hope. It is truly fitting that this power and light organization will so dramatically assist us in our work of empowering the powerless and illuminating the path for many who cannot otherwise find their way out of chronic homelessness.
As you pass out from this gathering, take note of the small plaque affixed to the right of the entrance gate on NE 8th Street, just a few steps from this place where Brother Mathias Barrett first began the work of the Brothers of the Good Shepherd in Miami 48 years ago, Take a minute to read what it says:
A Ministry of the Brothers of the Good Shepherd
Founded August 20, 1960 by Brother Mathias Barrett, BGS
Abandon fear all who enter here; we offer you hope.
Abandon shame all who enter here; we offer you dignity.
Abandon hurt all who enter here; we offer you healing.
Abandon isolation all who enter here; we offer you community.
Embrace hope, embrace dignity, embrace healing,
for you are in the embrace of your community
When we relocate from this site to the new Camillus House Center in 2010, we will leave most of the physical aspects of this Camillus House behind. We will bring with us the charisms, or special gifts, of the Brothers of the Good Shepherd: hospitality, availability, flexibility, adaptability and respect for human dignity; and we will bring our guests and clients; our volunteers and staff; our traditions and standards; and our love for the poor. We will also bring with us this plaque – the Camillus Welcome – which we will affix at the door of the FPL Welcome Center – the Door to Hope.
