The critical role of the volunteer in this work
In the Fall, we started a series of workshops with Jim Blum, Founder of My Father’s House (MFH), and Denio Marx, Director of International Relations for APAC. During our November session, we learned about the importance of volunteers. They are the heart and soul of the APACs in Brazil.
“Their gratuity makes the difference in the life of people deprived of liberty: they begin to see that they are persons with value who are being heard and loved”
In the Fall, we started a series of workshops with Jim Blum, Founder of My Father’s House (MFH), and Denio Marx, Director of International Relations for APAC. During our November session, we learned about the importance of volunteers. They are the heart and soul of the APACs in Brazil.
We started involving small groups of volunteers at My Father’s House during the Sunday dinners, a tradition offered since its foundation to current and former residents. To break “barriers and prejudice,” (Denio) we broke bread.
“Why do you come here? Why are you so nice to us when everywhere we go people don’t touch us with a ten-foot pole?”
Here are a few witnesses from the volunteers that night:
Mike: “I told him that I am here because I have done bad things and made mistakes in my life and the last thing I want is to be looked at as the worst thing I have ever done. My heart is not made for that. The guys at MFH have the same heart as me: this makes me want to go and be with them. To live together in such a way that we can look at each other as a desiring heart rather than as our mistakes helps me be in my life more fully.”
Ale: “When I go to My Father’s House I am always struck by the men’s raw and palpable state of need. A need for mercy and salvation, expressed for example by overwhelmed shyness in some or overwhelming talkativeness in others, that I rediscover in myself as soon as I am exposed to it. I often cover up this pressing need with superficial things and predefined meaningless conversations. My days are often determined by the desire for independence, by the lack of need. Going to My Father’s House helps me cut through my life’s nonsense and have a truer gaze on myself and others. […] That night, when I got home, my in-laws were there, and I found myself freer (more ‘raw’) with them than I had been in a long time.”
Abi: “I didn’t have an answer at first, but I’m glad he asked the question. In the days following, I realized that the homeless, the outcasts of society, the men of My Father’s House are just humans who need companionship, just like me.”
Want to learn more? Read our article to “Get a Glimpse into RFI”
Under Denio’s guidance, we’ve been taking the ‘small steps’ approach, identifying tasks and needs where we can involve more and more volunteers.
We also started to reach out to the local community: churches and organizations have responded very positively to the mission of My Father’s House, and new opportunities for volunteers’ involvement are popping up. You will hear more about this in the upcoming months. If you haven’t signed up for our newsletter, click here; or share with a friend!
We are also continuing the screenings of Unguarded around the country. We just concluded five screenings in Florida, including Florida International University, two correctional institutions (Everglades C.I., and Homestead C.I.), the Public Defender Office in Palm Beach County, and the Hippodrome Theater in Gainesville. In March, we’ll be in Kentucky:
- March 30th, 7:00 pm, Thomas More University, Covington, KY
- March 31st, 10:30 am, Pontifical College Josephinum, Columbus, OH
Thank you,
Alberto “Desa” De Simoni, Program Manager, Restorative Freedom Initiative
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