The Silence of Mary Home is a safe haven for
young people from the Allison Hill (inner-city)
neighborhood of Harrisburg to come live, be discipled,
or just hang out. The director, Sue, is the"mom" of the home. Any person that comes to
live in the home, whether short-term or long-term,
becomes part of the loving "family." The home is
known in its community for its bright murals and
as a place of hope where residents can get help
for their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual
needs. Silence of Mary is a caring family.
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Silence of Mary is very focused on meeting people’s
needs wherever they are, and we try to do the same. Most
of the residents, especially the teenagers and young adults,
do not have strong support systems, so we spend time just
hanging out, talking with them and letting them know that
someone cares about them. Other times, we do odd jobs
that Sue, the house “mom,” needs done. Although we do
try to “help” in whatever way we can, we learn a lot just
by going and experiencing issues—like poverty, racism,
and violence—that residents must deal with every day.
Messiah students can serve as friends and mentors to these
kids. Currently groups go to Silence of Mary on Saturday
afternoons, but we can add other time slots if it would
work better to go on another day. Relationships of mutual
encouragement are formed as the volunteers and kids
praise God, read the Bible, play games, and just talk together.
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nd Valley High