The eleventh hour

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(Above – left) Catholic Charities Health and Wellness coordinator Ebony Everson and Kevin Reimer, coordinator of Schools Grants & Scholarships at the Syracuse Diocese Catholic Schools Office. (Right) MHR school secretary Katie Zubrzycki (left) and MHR principal Sherri Stone. 

A call for help is answered: ‘We see you, we hear you’

By Tami S. Scott
Associate editor

The staff at Most Holy Rosary School in Syracuse often answers calls during school days regarding when the parish food pantry is open – the inquiry is typically resolved in seconds. Only recently they had to jump into action for an urgent situation involving a local family in dire need of food.

It was a Friday afternoon when the call came in. The voice on the other end explained her situation – she and her family didn’t have any food to get through the weekend – could they help?

“At first, we thought it might be one of our parents,” said MHR Principal Sherri Stone once she learned the family name. But after checking their school database, she realized they weren’t. This ultimately mattered little but was formally checked due to a partnership between the diocesan Catholic Schools Office and Catholic Charities. To date, the Child Health and Wellness program is designed to assist and support students and their families with much-needed services at three diocesan schools: the Cathedral Academy at Pompei, Blessed Sacrament and Most Holy Rosary. “It doesn’t matter if it’s our family or not [though], we want to help these people,” Stone said.

More phones began to ring.

Stone called Kevin Reimer for direction. Reimer is coordinator of Schools Grants & Scholarships at the Diocesan Catholic Schools Office. He wholeheartedly agreed with Stone and rang Catholic Charities. Within 10 minutes, Catholic Charities Health and Wellness coordinator Ebony Everson called MHR. Everson said a call was already made to the emergency shelter – another food pantry on East Onondaga Street located next to the Syracuse Diocese.  They were closing at 2:30 p.m., leaving only 30 minutes to act.

Stone called back the woman: “Hey, [the MHR church] pantry is not open, but I can get you some food from Catholic Charities.” The woman was delighted, Stone said, and tried to find a ride but couldn’t. Reimer couldn’t pick up the food because he was nowhere near the location, attending a play at Holy Cross School; all the coordination and communication were done remotely. Finally, it worked out. MHR school secretary Katie Zubrzycki raced to the pantry to collect three grocery bags and delivered them to the family’s home.

“Then the lady called back and told us how grateful she was that there were still people in the world that cared,” Stone said. “That we brought, you know, some humanity to her family.”

While retelling the story, Stone recalled her own childhood, having grown up in poverty. “I grew up in Texas and Arkansas, and we were very poor,” she said, remembering how people would help out her family when she was a child. “You know, we’re called by God to help others and to be his hands and feet. And I just believe that if you’re in a position to help, that you should do everything you can to help others, to be the hands and feet of Jesus.”

‘We would have done it anyway’

Though the family was not part of the school community, Reimer also said it didn’t matter. “This is about making sure that people get what they need. This is the beauty of partnering with Catholic Charities – we can’t do this [as educators], but they can.” He added, “We’ve had other situations – many – that we could talk about where we were made aware of needs – and we were able to meet [them].”

Everson’s main priority is for families to rid themselves of any stigmas of shame or humiliation when asking for help. “I don’t want them to feel like that at all,” she said. “That’s what we’re here for, to help bridge the gap and to supply their needs.”

Reimer admitted that was a huge concern early on in the partnership – how many families will say no to help due to stigmas? He said he believes the rise in families accepting support (about two-thirds) is due to Everson’s gentle, calm and ‘no judgment’ demeanor.

“We see you. We hear you,” he said. “[This is] what Jesus would do.”