We are fortunate to have extremely generous donors and volunteers who give their time, energy, support and resources to Catholic Charities. As part of our donor and volunteer appreciation campaign, we are recognizing individuals and organizations who share God’s love and spread Christ’s light by partnering with Catholic Charities. Because of our donors and volunteers, we are able to bring vital, lifesaving services to our neighbors in greatest need. Here’s Terrance Moses’ story:
Terrance has a passion for getting people experiencing homelessness into a program, transition project, or home of their own. This passion, he shared, was sparked from an incident where he almost lost his life, but was “spared by the grace of God to continue on.” Ever since then, Terrance has been passionate about people experiencing homelessness and giving back to them.
He says, “It’s important that our community supports other humans that are struggling in this world. It seems to be very hard to get someone who is houseless back into the society without the proper help. Volunteering is very important because it tells them that someone else cares. That would be the boost that they need in order to keep them going down a path of loneliness. As humans, and as humanity grows, a strong community creates strong individuals. Our houseless neighbors have been so shamed that they feel there is no other options, so that is why I feel it’s important for me to invest in our houseless folks. Especially at Kenton Women’s Village because the women are the most vulnerable on the streets.”
Terrance has been volunteering with Kenton Women’s Village since day one. He is the chair of the Kenton neighborhood association and when Catholic Charities of Oregon approached him about the Kenton Women’s Village when it was just a pilot project, Terrance said he took an immediate interest in it because it was something he could get behind.
Ever since that time, you can find Terrance at Kenton Women’s Village every couple of days to volunteer and help the villagers with various projects. He has built strong relationships with the villagers over the years. “They have my personal cell phone, so if anything happens, they can call me,” he says.
Terrance shared two precious moments during his many volunteer hours at the village. The first he shared was when Kenton Women’s Village was at its original location and the villagers had a community center that was open air. “When the first winter came around the wind was blowing inside, you could see them shiver. We launched a fundraiser to raise money to enclose that space. With the help of myself and church volunteers and one person from Anderson construction, we enclosed the whole space putting in slider doors and windows – we kept the wind and rain off of them and they could now be in a space where they could be warm.”
The second he shared was the first Christmas at the village. “We had 20 women living at the village and put out a request to make Christmas special. We were able to supply every woman with gifts: robes and shower shoes. To see their faces on that Christmas morning as they opened gifts was just amazing.”
Terrance wants to let people know that homelessness is a real problem and that we, as a country, have to do better. His message to our community at large is this: “Take stock of your life and as you see a houseless person reflect that at any moment this could be you, and ask yourself how would you want to be treated.”
Thank you, Terrance. At Catholic Charities of Oregon we wouldn’t be able to deliver lifesaving services to those in greatest need without people like you. You #Inspire Us.