Voice of a Guest: Elizabeth
Elizabeth first came to Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen after coming back to New York for the first time in two years.
“I walked away from an apartment I had in Massachusetts because it was unsafe and unviable,” says Elizabeth.
[blockquote]“Experiencing homelessness in the cold weather months, you see lights from windows – your heart feels like it’s being squeezed.”[cite]-Elizabeth[/cite][/blockquote]
Elizabeth came back because she is a native New Yorker, however quickly realized it was going to be much more difficult than she thought. “I lost my mom and my older brother last December and it hit me in midtown when I got to NY that I didn’t have family to go to anymore. I was utterly alone and just devastated,” Elizabeth says sadly.
Elizabeth tried many places for help but as she says herself there was “no room at any inn.” After finding so many doors closed, Elizabeth was relieved when she came to Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen and found our door was open. And that she could get a lot more than a nutritious meal.
Standing there in midtown after being declined over and over again, Elizabeth headed to Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen in the hopes to make it for lunch and it was here that she was able to find the help she needed.
“For me the marriage between immediate need and immediate solution really was here in a comprehensive way. Whatever they didn’t have they could give you a list, or pick up a phone, or push a phone at you and tell you to go ahead and make that call,” Elizabeth says with a smile.
“Homelessness changes you. It changes you for life. You have a humility, a compassion and an understanding at a depth you might not otherwise,” says Elizabeth. “You know I cried because I had no shoes until I saw a man who had no feet. I see people pushing themselves in wheelchairs with duffle bags and knapsacks. I’ve got two good legs; I’ll move forward!”
Elizabeth is grateful for everything that she has been given at Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen, including the warm embrace and community here. “Above everything, it is being treated with kindness, dignity and respect, every time, whether it is from a volunteer or a staff person. You don’t know how that makes me feel. I’d say it’s my home away from homelessness!”
