During the 2022 Advent season, the spirit of cooperation moved several Catholic lay groups in Charlottesville to begin helping a family in need find safe and stable housing and, just as importantly, surround them with a supportive community whose faith brought them all together.
The collaboration between Catholic Worker community Casa Alma and the local Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP), with initial assistance from Church of the Incarnation, Charlottesville, and the Family Intergenerational Religious Education (FIRE) group there, as well as Charlottesville’s Notre Dame Alumni Club, formed a support network that changed the lives of a young immigrant father, mother, and their two-year-old son.
In addition, the Latino family was first helped with food, transportation, and temporary housing, and connected to local social services by volunteer Estela Diaz Knott of the organization Sin Barreras (“Without Barriers”), which, although not specifically Catholic, began as an outgrowth of Church of the Incarnation.
While housing and support were the goals, the cooperative path to those goals gathered diverse Catholics and deepened their faith.
“We’re working together in a unique way,” reflected Laura Brown of Casa Alma. “Looking back, it all seemed like one amazing coincidence after another. But it was the Holy Spirit all along.”
‘I feel closer to God’
Originally from Central America, the family – Luis, his wife, Ortilia, and their son, Mateo – had lived briefly in northern Virginia until Ortilia was diagnosed with cancer in 2022 and sent to the University of Virginia’s medical center for surgery and chemotherapy. (Their last name is withheld for privacy.)
They knew nobody in Charlottesville, spoke little English, and stayed in a motel at first. And, because Ortilia was so ill, Luis needed to care for his family and thus was unable to work.
Brown, who speaks Spanish, recently asked Luis about their life in Charlottesville over the past two years.
His translated response: “I give thanks to God and to the people of the church who have helped us,” he said. “My wife was very sick when we came here but people helped us with rides to the hospital, with food and medicines. The people who support us are very generous, very kind.”
Similarly, SVDP member Denise Zito, who speaks Spanish and visits the family monthly with her fellow Vincentian Bridget Davis, asked Ortilia to share her thoughts.
The whole journey has grown her faith, she said, especially as “the hand of God” guided her to come to Charlottesville. “I feel much closer to God and my faith because of my experience.”
Zito added: “Ortilia affectionately calls us her sisters, and Bridget and I feel the same about her. She will send us messages of blessing: ‘My sisters, how are you?’”
‘Grace and opportunity’
The collaboration began in the fall of 2022 when Casa Alma founders Brown and her husband, Steve, heard the family’s compelling story from Sin Barreras, which had found them temporary motel lodging. The organization and Incarnation parish provided short-term financial support for the motel, plus transportation and donations from Incarnation’s food pantry.
The Browns, former Maryknoll missionaries and longtime Incarnation parishioners, founded Casa Alma in 2009 as an urban homestead to temporarily shelter those in need of housing, usually women with children. It is based on the principles of the Catholic Worker movement established by Dorothy Day.
In 2021, Casa Alma acquired Carlton House, a nearby two-story, 10-unit building. Each unit has a private bathroom, with shared kitchens, living rooms, and laundry. Casa Alma and other sponsors subsidize the rents, partly or fully.
Although the building had been full, a tenant was preparing to move out when the call came, said Laura Brown. She asked Davis, whom she knew through peace and justice ministries, if the Vincentians could help. They said yes.
The family visited Carlton House and accepted the offer. “It was a beautiful time of grace and opportunity, during Advent, leading into Christmas, to get this room ready,” Brown said.
‘To be a force for good’
Greg Pudhorodsky, Incarnation parishioner and former president of Charlottesville’s Notre Dame Alumni Club, is among the volunteers who have helped at Casa Alma over the years. After Carlton House was acquired, they began working there also.
“Our club motto is ‘To be a force for good,’” Pudhorodsky said. “As Catholics, we believe every life is worthy.” In 2022 when the club was awarded a $5,000 prize for community service, they donated it to Carlton House to pay for furniture and to renovate two rooms with new carpet and paint. One of those renovated rooms was prepared for the new family.
“We want to share our hands, hearts, and treasure,” he said. “When you help people who don’t have anything, you get back a whole lot more than you give. It gives more worth to your own life.”
Meanwhile, by chance, Marianne Kish of Incarnation’s FIRE group asked Marta Daley, the parish’s charity coordinator, if there was an entire family the group could help. During Advent, the parish displays an “angel tree” with tags listing gifts for those in need. At Daley’s suggestion that Luis, Ortilia, and Mateo be included, the group “adopted” the family.
They worked quickly to prepare the Carlton House room with furnishings, linens, clothes, cleaning supplies, laundry items, and Christmas decorations, including a tree. They also provided Christmas gifts, including a dinosaur blanket for Mateo. “It warms your heart – it’s really a welcoming space,” Kish said.
To offset Ortilia’s medical costs, the group also bought gift cards to grocery stores and pharmacies, all within walking distance since the family does not have a car.
“Knowing that there are places that do this work, and knowing there are people who need this help, is really important, especially for our children,” she reflected, adding that her own children – Ryan, 16, and Megan, 14 – put their faith into action by helping.
‘Welcoming the stranger’
Once the family moved in, the Casa Alma community, including Carlton House volunteer Heidy Coleman, helped with connections to employment and school.
Vincentians Davis and Zito began visiting the family in January 2023. Davis explained that the SVDP helps people with many needs: rent, utilities, transportation, food, furnishings, and friendship.
Each month, the two visit Ortilia and Luis – if he is not at his landscaping job – and Mateo, now 4, if he is not at school. Their conversations, helped by phone translation technology, are mostly in Spanish.
“It’s fascinating how over time you get to know people on a deeper level, especially in their own home,” Davis said. “It’s so enriching; we walk out amazed at how well they’re doing.”
She noted that Ortilia was very quiet at first. “But as she’s feeling better each month, we see more of her personality come out, and she smiles and hugs us. It’s wonderful,” said Davis, who is also outreach coordinator at Holy Comforter, Charlottesville. “They’re eager to work hard and move ahead. They’re a lovely, resilient family.”
She noted how her own faith and understanding have grown. “I think a lot about ‘welcoming the stranger,’’’ she reflected. “Our motto is ‘Lead with compassion.’ People deserve an opportunity to improve their lives. We see the dignity in everybody.”
Besides other donations, the Vincentians’ chapter president, Kelly Albertini, found a bike for Luis to ride to work.
“We try to show up each month with something special,” Zito said. “They don’t ask for anything, so we think of what they might like.”
Recently Ortilia told Zito in Spanish, “It feels good here; Carlton House is a nice place to live.” She also expressed gratitude for her Vincentian friends.
Zito is just as grateful. “We see Jesus in the poor, and being with this family has been astounding.” She began to cry as she described the experience. “This has been life-changing for me, not just for the people we help. It’s a huge boost to my faith.”
‘We give thanks to God for them’
These days, Ortilia is cancer-free, Luis is working, and Mateo is thriving in pre-kindergarten at a nearby school. They also attend Incarnation parish.
“We are very happy living in Carlton House. It is safe and secure and the people are good and hard-working, and we now have friends in the neighborhood,” Luis recently told Brown in Spanish. “I pray that God blesses all the people who have helped us. They are truly Christian and we give thanks to God for them every day.”
At the end of December, the Casa Alma community will help the family find permanent housing, Brown explained.
Looking back, she marveled at how everyone came together. “It is just extraordinary to me that one initial conversation came to fruition in this way, to create these unexpected partnerships that have flourished and continued,” she said.
“It shows us how the Holy Spirit moves when people are attentive to what could be.”