“But Father, I have nowhere to go!”
That was the cry I heard over and over again when I counseled women who had lost their homes and their families due to a personal catastrophe.
Before the Julia Greeley Home came to be, if they didn’t have family or friends to help, most of these women had nowhere to go except overnight shelters, except most homeless programs exist for men, or women with children. Meanwhile, women who are alone without homes or other resources, number in the hundreds, according to metro Denver homeless statistics.
For women who are alone, whether living in shelters or fending alone “on the street” is an unimaginably brutal life. They are a constant target for sexual predators, and always in danger of being victimized by hardened bullies, street gangs and violent criminals.
God is offended by this. He wants every woman to recognize their dignity as human beings and as women. I was convinced that once women understood these truths, they could be inspired to achieve the self confidence necessary to rebuild their lives, just as our patron, Julia Greeley, achieved so much despite her many hardships and obstacles.
These were the ideas and frustrations that motivated me to seek a better way.
At Julia’s, we also impress upon every woman that she possesses innate dignity as an individual made in God’s image. No matter what her religious background — and we welcome women of every background — each woman is treated as an individual whose life has meaning and purpose. This fact is at the heart of our Christian faith, and was expressed by Pope St. John Paul II as “the beauty, not merely physical, but above all spiritual, which God bestowed from the very beginning on all, and in a particular way on women.”
Once a woman realizes her dignity, there is nothing she cannot accomplish! Our Julia Greeley “graduates” have found jobs, apartments, and reconciled with family. Two of our graduates have received scholarships through our partnership with the Ward Family Foundation in Alexandria, Virginia. We are looking for more qualified residents to apply.
God has blessed our mission and our residents, and we ask for your continued prayers. Every woman deserves the chance to rebuild her life.
—-Fr Regis Scanlon OFM Cap
Founder and President