Sojourner Truth House Shows What We All Need To Thrive

Writer: Sr. Barbara Pfarr, SSND

Sr. Barb Pfarr, SSND speaks at the press conference after the Nuns on the Bus & Friends site visit with Sojourner Truth House in Gary, IN.

Sojourner Truth House in Gary, Indiana is an excellent example of why we have Nuns on the Bus & Friends. The women of Sojourner Truth House are living out the values of the six freedoms of the “Vote Our Future” tour. They showed us both the need to protect these freedoms and the rewards when we do so.

We arrived for a site visit on October 7 and were met by several smiling staff members, including Director Angela Paul and Sister Nkechi Iwuoha, PHJC, a member of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ. Before even getting off the bus, my eyes were drawn to the beauty of a large community garden full of bright marigolds, a variety of fundraiser painted pumpkins, and a complex of welcoming buildings.

Sojourner Truth House is a ministry of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, and they can surely be proud of it! In a city of severe workforce housing shortages and elevated levels of poverty, Sojourner Truth House offers women a full service, welcoming resource: from listening ears, to food, clothing, and housewares, to counseling and training, to assistance in finding an apartment and ongoing support once a family is settled in a new home.

The impressively large staff, dressed in happy pink T-shirts, all seemed to glow from the inside. It was quickly clear that the staff members themselves are loved and loving. They form a welcoming community, and all are rewarded with competitive pay and full benefits. This demonstrates the organization’s firm commitment to treat all with dignity and respect.

Volunteer Director Airiel Crenshaw gave us a tour of the facilities. Food pantry, clothing room, and housewares boutique were all well stocked and neatly arranged. Cases of products from Pepperidge Farms to Huggies indicate that the staff and large volunteer corps take to heart the Poor Handmaids’ congregational commitment to “forge genuine partnerships with our community.”

Sojourner Truth House staff joined the press conference at the press conference following the Nuns on the Bus & Friends site visit to Sojourner Truth House in Gary, IN on Oct. 7.

The best part, of course, was talking with the women. Their brave stories of raising families while living in abuse and poverty, and the many tender and generous ways the people of Sojourner Truth House open their arms to them, moved all of us deeply.

Also deeply moving was the welcome from 102-year-old Sister Joan Fisher, PHJC. She and Sister Peg Spindler, CSA started the program in their convent home, having recognized the need. They laid out for us the history of Sojourner Truth House and the transfer to the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ. Both religious congregations are deeply committed to social justice.

When we asked, “What’s the best message to carry back to Washington, DC?” the immediate and loud response was “AFFORDABLE HOUSING.”

And that is one of the messages we will take. We will also take that message along to all the stops of the bus, and as we go back to our various homes. It is the message of why we must be multi-issue voters. These women, and all the others we met, need affordable housing options. They need stronger public benefits and services to raise their families from “just making it” to being able to take the families on vacations and send the children through college. They need public transportation, health care services, good schools… all the things that are needed for a fully human life.

We must vote these values. Local council members must personally know programs like these, so they can advocate for them. Judges must be willing to sentence offenders to treatment, not prison. Sheriffs need to avoid ticketing drivers for “driving while Black or Brown.” School board members must be committed to teaching our children the whole history of our country. This is what it means to vote our future!

When the women of Sojourner Truth House thrive, everyone thrives!

This reflection is from the 2024 Nuns on the Bus & Friends bus rider blog.