While hunger in New York City is a real and growing problem, there are still success stories every day. The aid of an emergency food program can help a working family through a tough financial period. The combination of public and private efforts can help others into long-term stability, ending their need for public assistance and putting them on the way to a better life for their children. It is never easy to move "beyond the soup kitchen" when the odds are stacked against you and assistance can sometimes come at a painfully slow pace. But for these New Yorkers, hard work, timely assistance, and a little luck made all the difference.

Gerry Moore

Gerry Moore serves St. Bartholomew’s Community Ministry as a jack-of-all-trades, filling in when needed at one of the busiest emergency food programs in New York City. Among his invaluable contributions include running the overnight shelter at St. Bart's when a scheduled volunteer fails to report for duty.

“He saves our bacon,” said Sister Mary Lois, assistant director of community ministry. “For the shelter, he’s absolutely invaluable.”

Moore comes by his interest in helping others naturally. At various points in his life, Moore has been homeless and has periodically used the ministry’s various services.

“The fact that I’m still alive… I feel that I’m blessed in my life, so I feel like I should give back all I can at this point in the game,” Moore said.

He has an easy rapport with the clientele at St. Bart's, especially since he knows many of them from his years on the streets. Ministry staff, which includes a VISTA national service participant, characterized Moore as friendly, efficient and very respectful in a position where respect is of paramount importance.

“The guests really like Gerry as a volunteer. He speaks their language,” said Deacon JD Clarke, director of community ministry.

Moore grew up in a Harlem tenement, noting with amazement that the $230-per-month rent his family paid on childhood home is now $2,100 per month. Even more astonishing for him is the large amount of homelessness in “the richest city in the richest country” in the world.

To describe a world that has given him some hard knocks, Moore has created a unique philosophy: “I take things as they come and I make my own breaks.”

For now, his journey has led him to a position serving others at St. Bart’s. And for the community ministry’s staff, volunteers and clients, it is their good fortune.

Have a success story you'd like to share? Contact Alexia Witcombe, Technology and Communications VISTA, at (212) 825-0028 x215.