Wishing a Happy Retirement to Luis Fernandez-Castro!

We wish our congratulations and best wishes to Luis Fernandez-Castro who is retiring after more than 20 years of serving the guests at St. Francis House. Luis first arrived in Boston from Colombia in 1994. After a few years of acclimating to his new community and life, he joined the St. Francis House staff in 2000 as a mental health counselor. He went on to lead our Latino Recovery Support Group, acting as a key case manager to the Latino population. For over 20 years, the group has been running each Wednesday from 9:30 am – 11:00 am and has helped numerous individuals over the years. These meetings currently place in the Recovery Support Center and cover various topics such as substance abuse intervention and sobriety supports, relationship building, behavioral change, legal and immigration support, language proficiency, and job preparedness. The group has been an enormous success among the Latino community at St. Francis House. Those who attend the group are often struggling with multiple issues at once, such as a language barrier, immigration procedures, substance abuse, and homelessness. Throughout his career, Luis has dedicated himself to helping connect these individuals with the unique resources they need in order to lift themselves up and rebuild their lives. We thank him for his years of service and wish him well!

Provincetown II Sets Sail for the 18th Annual Shooze Cruise

The 18th Annual Shooze Cruise, presented by the Emerging Leaders of St. Francis House set sail on Wednesday, August 4th, 2021. Attendees boarded the Provincetown II from the Seaport’s World Trade Center Pier with new men’s shoes in hand – a much-needed necessity that is out of reach for many of our guests.

After the counting was complete, we collected over 200 pairs of shoes and raised over $30K for St. Francis House!

As attendees arrived and crossed the gangway, they donated shoes into Shooze Cruise collection boxes that quickly filled up. (Thanks DGI Communications for the amazing collection boxes!) Our Emerging Leaders team quickly got to work volunteering by setting up our #ShoozeCruise photo backdrop and selling raffle tickets to win some of our incredible prizes.

Once out on the harbor, everyone enjoyed the amazing food generously donated by Roche Brothers. Sandwiches, shrimp cocktail, fruits and veggies, and delicious desserts were all on the menu. Another favorite with attendees were the mini burritos generously donated by Boloco Atlantic Wharf.

Guests enjoyed a lively evening filled with refreshing harbor breezes and snapping beautiful photos of the Boston skyline. They proceeded to dance the night away until we arrived back at the dock later that night. Many attendees also took advantage of our social media contest for a chance to win a restaurant gift card to Casa Verde in Jamaica Plain!

Thank you to all of our 2021 Shooze Cruise sponsors!

A huge thanks to our Captain ($5K) Sponsors: The Nolan Group and Webster Bank for their financial support and presence on the cruise. In kind sponsors, Roche Bros Catering, DGI Communications, and the crew at WERS 88.9 supported us by donating the evening’s delicious food and much appreciated radio ads. Thanks to our Commander ($2.5K) Sponsors:  Statewide Cleaning Inc. and Safety Insurance, and our First Lieutenant ($1K) Sponsors: Melick & Porter LLP, East Boston Savings Bank, and RKD Group for making sure the cruise was a success!

Fostering Creativity & Self Expression through our Art Therapy Program

After a year of closing due to COVID-19, the expressive art studio here at St. Francis House has reopened under the leadership of art therapist, Gurleen Anand. Gurleen works diligently to ensure all our guests feel they have a safe and secure place to express themselves freely through creative mediums. As the largest day shelter in Massachusetts, we are the only site to have comprehensive art studio and related programing focused on enhancing our guest’s sense of community.

Gurleen began her career in New Delhi, India after completing both her undergraduate and graduate degrees. Her first position was working at a private school; after her time in India she went on to begin a position as an after school art teacher in the Malden school district. Throughout the course of her education and these different positions, Gurleen always knew that in her career she wanted to bring together therapeutic arts programming with the mission driven and life changing work of the nonprofit sector.

Now, here at St. Francis House, Gurleen does just that. She states, “The arts program offers individuals experiencing homelessness a sense of accomplishment and an opportunity to connect with a deeper part of themselves. The studio is often seen as a safe place where people can escape from their daily challenges.” Guests participate in activities such as painting, drawing, weaving, crocheting and more – all thoughtfully promoting self-expression. In addition to the therapeutic benefits of this work, projects at the art studio often have a tangible impact on guests as well. Recent projects have included making flip-flops, bags, and t-shirts that guests take with them and continue to use.

While there is no skill requirement for participating in any of our arts programming, there are some tremendously talented guests coming in and out of our doors. A current resident and frequent visitor of our center is an individual named Ayodeji. Ayodeji is an advanced canvas painter and often uses his artistic talents to express his life experience as a deaf person. For him and all our guests, the work they create is theirs to keep. Guests may take or sell their work in whatever manor they see fit. A goal of Gurleen’s in the coming months is to create a more comprehensive program where guests have the opportunity to sell and display their artwork.

To learn more about our arts programming, please visit: https://stfrancishouse.org/programs/art-therapy/