When the eclipse illuminates: Emmaus sheds light on Erie poverty, possible solutions

Before the eclipse, I fretted over the details for my sun- and moon-themed festivities.

Would the house be too cramped for our dozen or so guests, including five spending the night? Which wine would go with Sunday's spaghetti dinner? Would family and friends notice that the cupcakes I bought for dessert were shaped like crescent moons?

But my biggest concern was that fickle weather would spoil the eclipse for those converging in Erie from Punxsutawney, Philadelphia, Long Island and southeastern Wisconsin.

My pre-party jitters proved silly, and as the skies cleared for totality, we floated into a space with "harmony and understanding, sympathy and trust abounding," as the Fifth Dimension sang in "Aquarius, Let the Sunshine In," a tune on my eclipse playlist.

Yet this cosmic experience shared by millions wasn't shared by all, including some guests at Emmaus Soup Kitchen, a ministry of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, which is marking 50 years of service this year. (Emmaus also offers a food pantry on Monday and Tuesday mornings; Emmaus Grove, which grows fresh produce for the pantry and the kitchen; and Sister Gus' Kids Café, which provides dinner, homework help and after-school fun for kids.)

My first-world worries about the once-in-a-lifetime total eclipse also pale in comparison to the daily challenges that Emmaus guests encounter.

In anticipation of traffic jams, the soup kitchen closed on eclipse day, meaning that a hundred or so faithful guests would miss their hot and healthy meal. In preparation, Emmaus staff and volunteers made extra sandwiches the previous Friday, packing each brown-bag lunch with a pair of protective glasses.

Visiting the soup kitchen that Friday, I learned that some guests weren't aware that the eclipse was coming. Destin, 31, an Emmaus newcomer, was one of them.

He had managed on his own for seven years but then a check got lost in the mail; he fell $1,200 behind on rent and lost his housing. Sleeping outside somewhere, he got hypothermia and had to be hospitalized. A blended case manager was assigned to him, but without a cell phone, he hadn't connected with the social worker to make an appointment.

Minus a phone, he didn't have access to the news, the internet or texts, so he hadn't followed the eclipse hype. A cell phone might seem like a luxury for the poor. But if you are unhoused in Erie, you can't just drop into a shelter; you must call (814) 743-5837 (also publicized as 1-814-SHELTER) to find an open bed. Access to the internet is also necessary to fill out many government forms and, often, to apply for jobs.

Michelle, who has intellectual disabilities, is in her early 50s. She relies on the bus to get to the soup kitchen and was happy that EMTA would operate on eclipse day but wasn't sure where to ride to view it. I hoped she would remember to wear her protective glasses.

Dave, who is retirement age, knows me from UPMC Park, where I usher for the Erie SeaWolves. I was surprised to see him back at Emmaus; months ago, he had secured housing in Little Italy, a bit of a hike to the soup kitchen at 218 E. 11th St. He explained that he was trying, once again, to beat drug addiction, this time with help from the nearby Erie City Mission. He has since moved to a treatment center in Ohio.

There may be common threads among those who come to Emmaus — unlucky breaks, regrettable decisions, chronic physical and mental health problems, loneliness, estrangement from family — but if you lump all the poor into stereotypes and blame them for their woes, you miss the opportunity to see their humanity and you overlook any chances to help find solutions.

Since I began writing for Emmaus more than a year ago, I've I listened more intently to people's stories. Doing so helps me to connect the dots in Erie, between anecdotes and activism, between the plight of the poor and the policies needed to alleviate those problems.

In the fall, I met a woman at the annual coat giveaway. Organized by volunteers from a Catholic parish, the event had enough new donations to provide one item per shopper. But this woman needed jackets for her brother and two young nephews, Ukrainian refugees who were to arrive in Erie the next day with few belongings, as she herself had done several years ago. The volunteers made sure she got three winter jackets.

You may know that Erie has been certified as a Welcoming City for refugees and immigrants. A good resource for following the latest developments on immigration policy is Network Lobby for Catholic Social Justice.

But while lawmakers disagree about acting on immigration legislation, you should also know that according to a 2021 study by the Economic Research Institute of Erie at Penn State Behrend, immigrants and refugees who resettle here pump $253 million a year into Erie's economy as small business owners, homeowners and workers.

Of course, no matter your birthplace, there can be upheavals at work. A family of four came to Erie from Meadville after the mom lost her job at a plastics plant. For months, they crashed in the basement of an acquaintance's home, without access to a shower, stove or refrigerator.

One bitter night when they couldn't trudge four miles through wind and snow to Emmaus, they asked for meal delivery (a service Emmaus can't provide).

When I picked up some decidedly unhealthy fast food for them from McDonald's at West 12th and Sassafras streets, I was surprised that the restaurant's "dining room" closes at 4 p.m. Using the drive-through is no big deal those with cars. But if you can't eat inside, you can't use the restroom, and that's a problem for those who are unhoused.

Perhaps the restroom closure is an unintended consequence but Erie City Councilwoman Kathy Schaaf points out that the lack of public restrooms in Erie is a public health issue. To get involved in her task force to find solutions, contact her at kschaaf@erie.pa.us.

For the poor, access to health care is limited or nonexistent. A mobile wellness center operated by AmeriHealth Caritas Pennsylvania, a managed-care Medicaid program, visits Emmaus periodically to offer health education programs.

After Guy, 56, attended an AmeriHealth program on heart-healthy practices, he showed me his scars from self-inflicted cuttings and gunshots; he also had broken ribs. He hoped to move from a tent near the railroad tracks to the unheated porch of a new friend, if he could find heavy plastic sheeting to enclose the porch to keep him and his girlfriend warm.

Guy is among the hundreds of homeless in Erie. The new Erie Spiritual Coalition has formed to advocate for solutions, including protections for renters from eviction. For more information and to sign up for the e-newsletter, visit https://cathedralofstpaul.org/erie-spiritual-coalition/.

Most Emmaus volunteers are longtime regulars. But joining forces for National Philanthropy Day in November, residents of the Mercy Center for Women volunteered at Emmaus at the initiative of Jennie Hagerty, the Mercy Center's executive director.

This is when I met Ciara, 29. She is recovering from drug use that began at age 12. Judging by her calm manner and organizational skills, I assumed she had mapped out her future. She corrected me. To beat substance abuse, she must focus on one day at a time. That meant that as she worked to regain custody of her daughter from a relative, she needed a job, one with hours compatible with her daughter's school schedule.

A new report by the Jefferson Civic Leadership Academy concludes that "Erie is on the brink of a child-care crisis," in terms of availability, cost and quality. You can read the full report here: https://bit.ly/44tF4Yg.

At the other end of the age spectrum, senior citizens also struggle to take care of themselves. At the food pantry, I ran into Linda. Years ago, I had written about her work on literacy programs. Linda had already lost one daughter to cancer. When Linda experienced severe stomach pain, another daughter insisted that she go to the emergency room. Doctors had misdiagnosed the cause of Linda's pain previously; she had to be life-flighted to Pittsburgh to have two abdominal tumors removed.

Post-surgery, her daughter insisted that Linda try to eat a healthy diet but "eating healthy is expensive," Linda said.

Emmaus Grove, the garden adjacent to the soup kitchen, helps to address that need by providing 2,000 pounds of fresh produce every season to the food pantry and soup kitchen. As planting season approaches, volunteers are needed to tend the garden and then to pick vegetables at harvest time. Contact the Emmaus office at (814) 459-8349 if you are interested.

To follow what’s new to reduce food insecurity statewide, visit the Pennsylvania Food Policy Council at https://bit.ly/4aXTEcX.

To assist those living on the margins in Erie, we must put a face on those in need, listen to their stories and respond to their immediate needs, as Emmaus has done by feeding the hungry for half a century.

The late Sister Mary Lou Kownacki, OSB, who founded the soup kitchen in 1974, liked to say that you still need to bandage the wound as you search for the cause of the bleeding. She and the late Sister Mary Miller, who was director of Emmaus for 42 years, believed that if we as a society reordered our priorities, the need for soup kitchens and food pantries could be eliminated.

This aspiration wasn't realized in their lifetimes of service; both sisters passed away in 2023.

But I can imagine them in the heavens, awed by the total eclipse, optimistic that this shared experience might foster a world with "harmony and understanding, sympathy and trust abounding" — that is, hope for a brighter future for all in Erie.

Liz Allen, a retired Erie Times-News public editor, writes for Emmaus Ministries. Learn more about Emmaus, including special events for the 50th anniversary, at www.emmauserie.org, and watch this space for more commentary on how to address the needs of Erie’s most vulnerable people.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Liz Allen: What the eclipse revealed about poverty in Erie