The Valley Catholic
in the diocese
St. Joseph Cathedral Basilica Social Ministry
Office serves array of human needs
By Roberta Ward
Sharon Miller is Director of the Social
Ministries Office of St. Joseph Cathedral
Basilica in downtown San Jose. She daily
serves hungry and homeless people, and
tries to empower these disadvantaged
residents to improve the quality of
their lives.
Miller, employed as director for
25 years, has served the downtown
population for 32 years, having been
a volunteer before that. “Compassion”
exemplifies the work of her office which
she says is based on the belief that every
person has God-given dignity.
She studied nursing and worked as
a nurse at O’Connor Hospital until her
second child was born. She has two
sons, both in their twenties.
“I loved nursing, but I had two kids,”
she said. She was always involved with
St. Joseph Parish, however, where she is
a Pastoral Associate and also helps with
the RCIA program.
She responded to the call of the late
Jesuit Father Jeremiah Helfrich who was
pastor of St. Joseph’s, 1983 to 1992. He
invited Miller to help serve the multiplying social needs in the downtown
area, then in a time of massive urban
redevelopment.
The Jesuits, dating back to the 1850s,
had a long history of pastoral and
administrative service at the historic
downtown parish. The church was designated the cathedral in 1990 after extensive structural and artistic renovation.
Miller recalls Father Helfrich serving
the homeless who camped out near the
then rectory on the edge of the Guadalupe River. The homeless are still in
the area.
Among the many services Miller’s
office provides are The Window. “It’s
the lifeline for people to get mail, messages, food, and to make phone calls,”
Miller said. “Homeless people simply
don’t have an address, so we provide
that for them.”
The drop-in Window on the first
floor of the church building at 80 S.
Market Street, adjacent to the Cathedral,
serves street people regardless of their
religious orientation, ethnicity, or life
circumstance.
They can receive help with immediate, wide-ranging needs: snacks,
beverages, sandwiches; nonperishable
groceries; toiletries; tokens for public
toilets; vouchers for clothing and blankets; VTA emergency tokens; walk-in
medical care; addiction counseling;
referrals to shelters, hot meal programs;
information on mental health and abu-
February 11, 2014
5
‘It’s the lifeline for people to
get mail, messages, food, and
to make phone calls.’
Downtown people come to The Window at St. Joseph Cathedral to collect mail, messages
and a midday sandwich.
Sharon Miller, stands by GARDNER Partnership Award which notes “Gardner Family
Health Network, Inc. recognizes and honors
Sharon Miller, Director of Social Ministry,
Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph, for 25
years of service.”
sive relationship situations.
A full-time Jesuit Volunteer and fulltime bilingual (Spanish) social services
coordinator manage the Window, open
Monday through Thursday 9:30 am to
5 pm (closed 12:30 to 1:30) and Friday 1
to 5 pm.
Miller explained that central to
the program’s mission is helping the
homeless and disadvantaged find and
maintain employment. A one-hour
class in English and Spanish offers
pre-employment preparation and job
opportunities information.
The walk-in medical clinic is available on site on Tuesdays and Wednesdays with a medical team from Gardner
Family Health Network which provides
free primary health care for those living
in a shelter or on the streets.
This includes general health screening and treatment, immunizations, limited ob/gyn care, and health insurance
registration. An addiction counselor is
available and Alcoholics Anonymous
meetings take place in adjoining Loyola
Hall on Wednesday at noon; in Spanish
at 10 am.
Twice a month people may pick up a
15-lb bag of nonperishable groceries at
the Window, largely low-income seniors
and families and individuals who have
moved out of shelters into their own
apartments.
Shelter Plus Care, a Housing and
Urban Development (HUD) project,
is jointly administered by the County
‘Homeless people
simply don’t have an
address, so we provide
that for them.’
Homeless Coordinator, various other
city/county and mental health agencies,
and the Office of Social Ministry.
The program targets those with
chronic history of street and shelter
homelessness, addicts in drug or alcohol
rehabilitation, and people with mental
health diagnoses or HIV.
Both Miller and Cathedral pastor,
Father Joseph Benedict, were recently
given awards by Gardner Health Services, wit