Gerry Returns to Volunteering

By Donna Lane

 The mission of St. Francis House is to help rebuild lives by providing refuge and pathways to stability for adults experiencing homelessness and poverty. Every day of the year, they enable individuals to meet their basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter. They transform lives using a holistic approach to understanding and addressing behavioral health, housing, and employment needs. And they have committed themselves to helping the people that they serve to achieve renewed lives of dignity and self-determination.

St. Francis House could not do all that they do without the ongoing help of its volunteers. One of those volunteers is Gerry McDermott, a Norwood resident for 53 years who recently moved to Walpole. 

“St. Catherine’s [of Sienna Catholic Church] had a clothing drive for St. Francis House a number of years ago,” McDermott said. “I donated some clothes at the time and then offered to help out and learned about all the good things they were doing.”

Some years later when he retired as Executive Vice President of a regional insurance company, he said he wasn’t looking for any management type position at St. Francis House. 

“When I retired from my position I was looking to do something to help people who weren’t as lucky as I have been in my life,” McDermott said. 

That commitment is as strong today as it was when he started this journey. 

“The Wednesday after Labor Day I started my 10th year of volunteering at St. Francis House,” McDermott reminisced. “I did a little bit in several other departments then eventually ended up in the kitchen. I go in at 6:30 in the morning and I help prepare for breakfast which begins for the guests at 7:30.

Unlike other mornings, Wednesday breakfast is the same each week. Waffles and sausages! McDermott calls it “I-Hop Wednesday.” As people come in line to be served, he is often the first one that they see. He gives them waffles and starts their tray process. McDermott feels that he needs to speak to each of the guests in some way. He might tell one person that he loves their hat; to another he might comment on their shirt; or he might ask if they got caught in the rain the previous day. 

“They are 2-second conversations because people are moving but I think it’s important to interact with them because some of these people have no interactions with other people all day,” McDermott said.

McDermott also stays to help with lunch and usually leaves about 1 p.m. His service is more remarkable because he suffers from Parkinson’s disease.

McDermott is a member of the Wednesday Group of volunteers which is comprised of teachers, a judge, insurance and wall street people, and a college administrator. 

“All of us made an unofficial commitment to St. Francis House to come every Wednesday to volunteer,” McDermott explained. “We have common beliefs and I think common faith – and we’re making a little change – not a great change, but a little change. There are just eight of us who come every Wednesday. 

Before the pandemic, we’d have lunch together once a month and we just bonded. There are no leaders; no one is trying to be top dog. Everybody checked their egos at the door. We’re just a group of people with one goal – to help others. I think we’re all over 70. In fact, one man is 92 years old; he comes in on the MBTA every Wednesday. He’s my idol! How can you complain about stuff when you see this person who’s 92 making the effort?” 

I asked if he could think of one particular thing that touched him since volunteering at Francis House.

“There are many things every time we’re there,” McDermott said. “But the thing that tugs at your heart is when you see some people coming through the line carrying all their worldly possessions in a green bag – tell me that wouldn’t tug at your heart.”

Almost all of St. Francis House guests are coping with some type of trauma. It may be focused trauma stemming from an incident, such as an assault. Or it could be the ongoing trauma of experiencing homelessness, or being continually at risk of becoming unhoused. This is a constant burden to many of the guests. Trauma manifests itself in many different ways; it may come out in substance-use disorder as a means of coping, and it often produces depression and anxiety. The weight of trauma can be tremendously taxing.

The Saint Francis House is located in the heart of Boston at 39 Boylston St., Boston opened in 1984. It is the largest day shelter in Massachusetts. Currently, Saint Francis House has 177 guests who access mental health services monthly.  It provides basic needs, such as food, clothing, and hygiene supplies, a medical clinic, behavioral health, women’s center, art therapy, workforce development, housing assistance, and more. They are a certified non-profit organization. For more information on the Saint Francis House, visit www.stfrancishouse.org or call 617-542-4211.

St. Francis House suspended its volunteer program on March 13th as part of their efforts to keep their guests, tenants, staff, and volunteers safe from Covid-19. From January 1, 2020 until they suspended their program on March 13, volunteers served 32,977 meals to almost 2,000 individual guests.

McDermott and the Wednesday Group couldn’t wait to get back to volunteer. They are now back at their Wednesday posts. These men and women have shown a true spirit of giving and as an unanticipated bonus they have made some very good friends in the process.

To Gerry McDermott and all those like him, we salute you and thank you for giving of yourselves to help others. May we all follow your example!