The Sacred Heart Dinner Program

04/06/2015

Where I've buried my compassion, break open the tomb.

As Easter comes, we cry out to the Lord whom no grave can withstand as we pray ...

01/06/2015

Years ago, some stray teenagers came to interview me about the dinner program. Man, I lisp when I have to speak extemporaneously, but I eventually calm down and get the point across.

Special guest stars: Adam Clarkson and the late, great Mario Auerbach.

Great video to post with the news that last fall, during our Hunger Fund drive, we had a guest from Kingston, NY at our 10:00 AM Sunday Mass. He had never been to SH before and hasn't been since, but he heard what we do and sent us a check for $1,000.

I had no idea that this ever found a home online. Keep telling the story. Keep looking out for the one in the shadows.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9--8RsyWSk

Participants in Radio Rootz DC, a "media literacy and production program for youth," interviewed members of the Ward 1 community in Washington, DC. Hoyt serv...

12/14/2014

Come out and support these wonderful players, as they support the Sacred Heart Dinner Program. Family-friendly venues.

Two upcoming performances this week by members of the Sacred Heart Choir in support of the Sacred Heart Dinner Program. Come out and support your musicians, support the people your parish cares for, and hear some great holiday music.

Family-friendly venues!

11/27/2014

This is where it all goes down. Let it be done.

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving is watching the children help during our annual parish dinner for our homeless brothers and sisters in Washington. This year, a litt...

11/17/2014

The US child homelessness rate is now at one in 30, an all-time high.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/report-child-homelessness-rise-us-26960391

The number of homeless children in the U.S. has surged in recent years to an all-time high, amounting to one child in every 30, according to a comprehensive state-by-state report that blames the nation's high poverty rate, the lack of affordable housing and the impacts of pervasive domestic...

11/14/2014

D.C. will activate its Hypothermia Alert tonight at 7 p.m. and it's important to remember what to do if you come across anyone in need of shelter tonight: Call the Shelter Hotline at 1-800-535-7252 or 311. You can also just direct them to Sacred Heart/Sagrado Corazon.

Hey, look up the hypothermia hotline for your city. Put it in your phone NOW so you have it when you spot someone.

Peace and stay warm.

There's a good chance you blocked last year's relentless winter from your memory, which is an understandable instinct to help guide you now. But it's cold again and D.C. will activate its Hypothermia Alert tonight at 7 p.m. and it's important to remember what to do if you come across anyone in need…

11/12/2014

Often in our parish, we pray for those who die and have no one to pray for them. I ask your prayers for Señor Inoe Javier Salvador. Inoe was known around the neighborhood as El Caballo --- The Horse. He was the smallest guy in the population we serve, but with the biggest heart. He was a hard worker and hustled to help people lift things that were twice his size.

He was prone not only to alcohol problems, but seizures, which on occasion would hit him during mass and cause him to squeal. His big heart also made him prone to fights, being the third guy into every scrap, jumping on top of whoever had the upper hand, no matter how big. I suspect that mad courage of his is what earned his nickname. I remember once breaking up a fight by grabbing the down vest of the first guy I came to and pulling him out the fray. It was El Caballo, and I hadn't realized how light he was, and I ended up throwing him halfway across the basement, and ripping a hole in his vest. The fight abated amid the absurdity of the room filling with down feathers snowing down on us.

Caballo, being small and too frequently drunk, was also an easy target for violence from local gangs --- who often like to use the homeless for practice and initiation. Thursday night he was found suffering from stab wounds at 14th Street and Perry Place, NW, and he was pronounced dead at the hospital. Police are asking for any information about his killing. The Sacred Heart Dinner Program asks you for your prayers for Señor Salvador. It's a wonderful city we live and worship in. But not for everybody. --- Edward

http://mpdc.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/mpdc/publication/attachments/salvador_inoe.pdf

10/29/2014

Orlando, Washington, the stories aren't necessarily what we think.

asked our friends to write down a fact about themselves that other people wouldn't know just by walking past them. Their answe...

09/03/2014

Please continue to advocate for our homeless brothers and sisters. Even as the coffers swell, the city continues to dismantle the social safety net.

D.C. shelters will be at capacity by December unless the city finds more beds for homeless parents and kids.

03/26/2013

Thanks for liking, folks. I'll try to use this page for updates about what's going on and current needs, so please share. Maybe I'll try and get a donation link here too, but you can find that and a broader background on our program at http://dinnerprogram.org/

The Shrine of the Sacred Heart Dinner Program is a volunteer operation that serves nutritious meals to homeless and low-income individuals living in the Columbia Heights and Mt. Pleasant neighborhoods of Washington DC.

03/25/2013

OK, so I finally made a FB page for our Dinner Program. What better time to announce that through the intervention of members of our Dinner Program Board, the Unity came with Dr. Crossland to the Sacred Heart dinner program and gave 17 clients flu shots.

No small thing. Good work, guys.