Mercy Volunteer Corps is a volunteer lay ministry program sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. The program offers women and men over the age of 21 the opportunity to serve the economically poor or marginalized in the fields of education, health care and social service.

Volunteers make a one or two year commitment to compassionate service, simple lifestyle within community and spiritual growth.

Read about the Mercy Volunteer Corps experience. (Link to MVC stories.)

To learn more about Mercy Volunteer Corps, log onto www.mercyvolunteers.org  - [www.mercyvolunteers.org] or contact:

Sister Sheila Devereux, RSM    This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Sister Mary Jo Holmes, RSM   This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Mercy Volunteer Corps Experience

by Julie Sharp

I work at Clean & Sober, located at Loaves and Fishes in downtown Sacramento. We work with homeless or low-income individuals who have an addiction to drugs and/or alcohol. We have both a walk-in office and three residential communities, which is where I do most of my service work. Originally from Massachusetts, moving out to Sacramento was a big enough change but working with a population I had never worked with before added to the transition. It was a little difficult in the beginning, but all the residents were so welcoming and received me as family.

One story that I'd like to share with you is about one of our residents. Many times, when someone is still using or drinking, they ruin many relationships in their lives. One individual had done just that, getting kicked out of his house when he was 17 years old. He spent the next 17 years in and out of our program and other programs, getting clean for a little bit then relapsing. This past time he was in our program, he seemed to really get it. He stayed clean for 9 months and decided that he wanted to find his family. After a lot of searching, he managed to find them and called them. He was invited to his family's place for Thanksgiving, just a few hours south of Sacramento. He accepted and traveled down to their house, staying over for a few nights. He said initially, it was a little difficult and awkward but after some time he became more comfortable. He is now in contact with them and continues to do well for himself. That's just one story among many others that inspires me to wake up every morning, despite many of the hard things I see each day.

Loaves & Fishes of Sacramento, Calif., was recently mentioned on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Read more at: http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20090218_tows_lisa-ling-recession/2