A helping hand through the years
In 2009, Kenya worked a full-time job as a teacher, and her daughters, Kashmare, 16 at the time, and Kashshay (who goes by Shay), who was 14, were well provided for. Life was good, until an unfortunate diagnosis threw their hard-earned stability into disarray.
Kenya was diagnosed with diabetic neuropathy, a condition that was slowly blinding her. Fortunately, there was a series of procedures that would fix the problem, but it left Kenya blind for nearly a year. After she lost her sight, she couldn’t even cook for her kids.
That’s when she remembered St. Vincent de Paul. A few years previous, Kenya had heard about SVdP’s Family Dining Room from a neighbor. Kenya took her family a few times back then, but now that Kenya was effectively blind, it was the perfect program to help her feed her family and relieve some financial pressure. Plus, she would have a community to connect into.
“You kind of become a family in this whole environment,” Kenya said. “We know most of the people here, they know us.”
It also didn’t hurt that they liked the vittles too.
“Oh, my God, anything with potatoes. If you serve potatoes with it or corn, I'm all there for it. I really like all the meals that they fix,” she said.
Every evening, the kitchen cooks up two different options for the families in FEM to choose from. They’re all full, square meals, like green curry with rice or roasted chicken with vegetables, or classics like spaghetti and meatballs. And having the option helps with those kids who are maybe a little picky.
And to make sure the families feel loved and so that they can receive help in a dignified way, volunteers go around the tables to get their orders and serve them restaurant-style.
After the series of procedures, Kenya regained her eyesight, reentered the workforce, and was able to support her and her daughter again. After a while, she didn’t feel the need to keep coming to SVdP because they were doing well and knew that their table in the dining room could go to another family who needed it more.
But it wasn’t the last time Kenya and Shay came to SVdP.
In 2019, the apartment complex that they were living in found black mold, and when everyone had to quickly vacate the building, the owners didn’t make any accommodations for the residents. Suddenly, and through no fault of her own, Kenya found herself living out of her car.
Not knowing where else to go, Kenya returned to the Family Dining Room, and didn’t just find a hot meal for her and her daughter — she found a safe, accepting community still there, ready to help her through this newest trial.
“Family Evening Meal is a godsend,” Kenya said. “Shay really likes coming here. We love the food, the atmosphere.”
While visiting the dining room most evenings, Kenya was also able to get help from SVdP’s Social Work Services team, which walked Kenya through the rehousing process and sometimes helped her find temporary shelter. Eventually, she was able to get into permanent housing thanks to help from Sister Carmelita, a famous face around SVdP who retired a few years ago.
“Saint Vincent finds something, some way, somehow, to help you the best that they can.”
Even though Kenya has been out of crisis for a few years now, her budget as a single mother is tight. She no longer works as a schoolteacher and is now a hospice nurse. With the cost of living having increased, it is hard to pay the bills on a single source of income.
Because of this, she still comes to the Family Dining Room with Shay, both for the community, and how it helps her stretch her already tight budget.
“When I'm working, like I am now, we make too much, so now we don't receive any public assistance as far as food,” Kenya said. “So this is a godsend.”
But the dining room is more than just a way to make every dollar count, it’s one of Kenya’s favorite sources of community. Every evening, she’s able to be around other moms, and she formed an especially close connection with Family Evening Program Manager Cindy Bernardo.
“Miss Cindy — oh my gosh — she's an angel. She's a real-live angel on this Earth. If she sees you looking sad, she always hugs you, then she hugs your kids. She’ll help you figure out anything or guide you to people that can help you.”
Even Shay, who is 30 now, but has special needs and the cognitive abilities of an 8-year-old, is able to fit in with the kids. Cindy makes sure that she’s able to participate in the educational enrichment activities of the dining room’s adjoining Dream Center, usually reserved for kids. Even the other families welcome Shay with open arms.
“Even though there's sometimes a language barrier, my daughter talks to everybody in the whole world,” Kenya said. “They communicate with her, and she calls them grandma or Nana, and she has her own people.”
Kenya has found love and acceptance at SVdP, and plans on continuing to come to the Family Dining Room for the good food and the support she can’t find anywhere else.
“Everything is perfect. And there's no shame. No one has to be shamed to come in here. They welcome you."
