Neil Gillespie starts his day with a hot cup of coffee, a hard-boiled egg, fresh oranges and a slice of toast. But if it weren’t for the Gainesville Catholic Worker community, he’d likely be hungry and left to fend for himself.
The organization, based out of the Green House, located at 213 NW Second Ave., provides food, hospitality and a cozy place to hang out for Gainesville’s homeless. In the last month, it has started providing first aid, haircuts and hot showers to those in need.
“When we fail to provide the dignity that these gentlemen and ladies need, we fail them,” said 22-year-old Alexander Templeton, who’s been working at the house for about a month.
The neat two-story, light green house was purchased in 2004 by local Catholic workers who follow the service-based Catholic Workers movement. In the front, the house is surrounded by a white picket fence and lush greenery, and the backyard contains a chicken coop along with picnic tables and strings of white lights.
To Gillespie, the Green House is a second home. He said he’s excited it’s now offering grooming and first aid, services that are a luxury to those living on the streets.
For Monday, Tuesday and Thursday breakfast, the house staff typically serves between 30 and 40 people.
Templeton and Daniel Loya, a live-in Green House coordinator, both want to avoid the “cattle line” approach that many shelters and soup kitchens use when serving.
The house operates on financial and food donations. Loya said it stays within its means by practicing cost-effective habits like growing a portion of its food and using eggs from the five chickens it keeps in coops out back.
For Templeton and the rest of the staff, the house is a way to spread their values and to help the community.
“I want to be a lamp because when you have a light that shines inside of you, you don’t put it underneath the table to hide it,” Templeton said. “You allow it to shine to the whole entire world.”
[A version of this story ran on page 8 on 2/25/2014 under the headline “Oasis for the homeless starts offering haircuts, hot showers"]
Green House, located at 213 NW Second Ave., provides food, hospitality and a cozy place to hang out for Gainesville’s homeless
