By Rick Winterson

     Martin Tierney and his cohorts stopped by the St. Francis House last Wednesday to deliver the money and checks he received as a result of his “Dance for the Homeless” on December 11.  Leah Bloom, Development Associate at the St. Francis House, took the donations, placed them in a safe, and kindly offered to give the group a guided tour.

     The St. Francis House is New England’s largest facility devoted to the homeless.  The amount of good the House does each year is truly eye-opening.  They serve around 700 individuals a day, which multiplies out to a quarter million (250,000) visits a year.  In their ten-story facility on Boylston Street, they perform their miracles on a budget of $6 million a year - $5 million in money, another $1 million worth of “in-kind” donations.  That’s just $24 per person per visit.

     Among the extensive services the St. Francis House offers are job counseling and resume preparation.  They also provide new clothes for interviews, along with alterations to insure that the clothing fits well and gives a professional appearance to applicants.  Most applicants find employment in two weeks or so.  So far this year, the House provided medical care in more than 8,000 visits.  During the fall months alone, it has served 71,000 meals.  The entire effort at the St. Francis house is nothing short of amazing.

     The House was recently the subject of an article in the Globe (Sunday, September 1, City Weekly, page five).  The article described a small but complete studio at the House, which allows guests to create their own original works of art.  They have put together a set of colorful greeting cards for sale.  It also gives an identity to the clients at the St. Francis House – not, “I am out of work and homeless”, but instead, “I am a talented artist.”

     St. Francis House is a great facility, which will put the money raised by Martin to good use.  On top of  the ticket sales to the dance, 14 people and institutions made additional donations. When asked how much he raised, Martin says, “Oh, several thousand.”   And he means it.