In the effort to provide hospitality to the homeless, The Reeder family is planning to move to a second location and open the second Hope Hospitality House in the city of Dubuque. The Building is located at 412 Loras right on the corner of Bluff and Locust. This building has a rich heritage as it used to be the old VNA building. Most recently it was a law offices of a local attorney.
"What would Jesus do" if he met today's homeless and hungry?
Catholic Workers ask themselves that every day as they welcome society's most vulnerable to share their daily lives.
At Dubuque's Hope House, a Catholic Worker House of Hospitality, three men offer food and shelter to other men who desperately need both. They also provide a daily drop-in space, a food pantry, two weekly community meals, an evening prayer service and roundtable discussions.
They have offered this piece of their lives to live among the poor.
"Catholic Workers provide food, clothing and shelter, because Jesus did it and told his followers to do it, too," said Tom Johnson, Hope House manager. "We respect the dignity of each individual who comes here for help."
'Treats you like a man'
Dale Lohman appreciated that ideal when he arrived broke and homeless on the Hope House porch last month.
"Tom has an attitude of respect. He treats you like a man. He gives you a bed and a meal and doesn't ride you," said
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The current wish list for Hope House, 1592 Locust St.: * Prayers * Dish and Laundry Soap * Men's shoes, boots & socks *Shaving cream, razors & deodorant *Frozen meat *Toilet paper *Financial support *Upright freezer Call Hope House at 563-582-9079 to arrange for donations. Financial contributions can be sent to: Hope House, 1592 Locust St., Dubuque, IA 52001. Catholic Worker Movement The Catholic Worker Movement was founded during the Great Depression, in 1933, by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin. Today, there are more than 185 Catholic Worker communities whose members live in voluntary poverty to serve the poor and work for justice and peace. There are seven communities in Illinois, eight in Iowa and 10 in Wisconsin. |
49-year-old Lohman, who in a few short weeks has earned a commercial driver's license, saved enough money to buy a used truck and has a possible truck driving job waiting for him.
Johnson, 57, comes to the Catholic Worker Movement after many years of Catholic lay ministry in Minnesota. The more he learned about the movement, the more it stirred his soul.
"I started to understand the Gospel of Luke, that it wasn't talking about abstract poverty, but about real actions," said Johnson, who has an easy, approachable manner.
He is the community's father figure, while his son Ben serves as its philosopher. Ben has lived at Hope House for about a month.
"I had studied the contemplative monks, but realized I would not fit in a monastery. But I wanted to serve people, so this is a natural fit," said Ben, 25.
The third Hope House Catholic Worker is a Buddhist. Duke Okkelberg, 37, spends his days translating Buddhist scriptures and providing a "sense of calm and peace" within the community, he said.
"Offering hospitality and solidarity with the poor correlates with Buddhist teachings," Okkelberg said.
The term "Catholic Worker" is often misunderstood, Johnson said. "Many of them are not Catholic."
The 13-year-old Hope House is the successor of the Song of Mary Catholic Worker House of the 1970s and '80s. Until last year, the houses sheltered women and children. Now Hope House provides 13 beds (and several couches) for homeless men.
Community effort
Dubuque's Catholic Worker community is a loose-knit group of social activists who raise the money to keep their shelter's doors open and food on its table. Various churches and Loras College students provide the food in rotation for Sunday and Monday night dinners that are open to the broader community.
At a recent dinner, 33 people crowded into two rooms and quickly devoured plates of ham, goulash and salad served by volunteers from Dyersville's St. Francis Xavier Parish.
"As Catholic Workers, we say, 'Come in and share our home because you don't have one right now,'" said Mary Moody, who with her husband, Rick Mihm, managed Hope House for five years.
In 2001, they started New Hope Farm south of Dubuque as a sister Catholic Worker community. Moody values the "personalism and flexibility" offered by Catholic Worker houses, which are not governed by formal boards or agency guidelines.
House rules
At Hope House, the rules are simple -- no weapons, drinking, drugs or violence. The men are expected to help with household chores, eat supper together, attend a weekly meeting and respect each other. Their religious beliefs, if any, don't matter.
Lohman credits Hope House with providing him with a "helping hand among people who care."
"I don't know where I'd be without this place," he said. "Probably frozen."
