What do past volunteers say about daily life at Dan Corcoran House?

“As far as the daily routine of the house, it will consist of the normal tasks of any home: laundry, cooking, cleaning up, visiting with people, playing with kids. Every evening at 6:00 we have supper together, and that is open to anyone in our extended community who would like to join us. Guests help themselves to whatever’s available for breakfast and lunch.

“We buy what food we need. But we try to make the most from whatever is donated . . . believing that God’s providence, working through the goodness of this community, is sustaining us. Some people and churches have mentioned taking responsibility for an evening meal preparation periodically, and we’d be glad to see that happen. . . .

“When guests come to us, we let them know a few basic things about the house—that it’s temporary housing . . .,that we have a few rules (no alcohol or drugs, no violence, no smoking in the house, and people are in by 10:30 p.m.), that they are free to come and go and make themselves at home, joining in whatever they wish to.” (Barbara Allaire, 1992)
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“A day does not go by without a volunteer dropping off some food, donations, or just stopping by to say hi or to see if they can do something for us. . . . Every so often before you can get up to answer the knock on the door, you can hear a loud “Hello!” from one of our former guests, just dropping by to let us know what they’ve been up to and how things are going for them. If they time it right (they always remember what time dinner is), some of them even stay for a meal. It’s a special visit for all of us, and as they leave with a smile on their face no words need to be spoken to understand their thanks. . . . “ (Sheila O’Neil, 1993)
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“Recently, in one day’s time, we went from having one guest to having thirteen—including nine children all under the age of nine. When it rains, it pours! . . .

“We were just clearing off the table after supper when Margaret Cassidy, who had played her guitar earlier for us during Mass, got her hands on a beat-up children’s guitar that we’d recently been given by a neighbor. Margaret put some strings on that old guitar and tuned it up as best she could and began to play. . . . Well, those kids flocked around Margaret as soon as she began plucking out those children’s songs.

“Some of us were working on the dishes in the kitchen, and it wasn’t long before we were drawn to the happy singing in the living room. The children were lying on the floor and draped over the furniture, listening to Margaret sing and then imitating her as best they could, beautiful smiles on their round, brown faces. . . .

“We probably went through more than a dozen songs, including a startlingly robust rendition of “Old McDonald Had a Farm.” Even the adults were getting into calling out names of farm animals. People passing by our living room window out on the sidewalk couldn’t help hearing a loud, energetic chorus of ‘with a moo moo here and a moo moo there, here a moo, there a moo, everywhere a moo moo!’ . . .

“Later in the evening we were gathered in the basement for the weekly house meeting. ‘Listen,’ someone said. Through the ceiling we could hear the children upstairs as they prepared for bed—they were still singing.” (Jerry Daoust, 1994)
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“When I moved into the Catholic Worker House a few months ago, I was prepared for the work: the laundry, the dishes, the cooking. What I wasn’t ready for was the living that happens—the connection you make with so many people that runs so deep. It is impossible not to learn about the people, be they guests, former guests, or the many volunteers who help out here. You learn about them, and consequently, about yourself.

“I’ve learned about the difficulties in their lives: family problems, abuses, illnesses, disappointments and frustrations. I’ve experienced their joy and their giftedness: the artists, cooks, loving parents, selfless mothers, as well as the ones who seem to struggle to love their children. One of the things I’ve enjoyed most about being here has been the kids I’ve met. With sparkling eyes and radiant (sometimes mischievous) smiles, they quickly grow on me, sometimes literally! Recently during Mass at our house, we stopped for a few moments to just listen to the sounds of the kids that were there with us. I wish we could do that more often. . . . Instead of teaching them to grow up to be just like us, we could let them teach us for a while. . . .

“What we do here is so exciting! I’m not sure if all of you know exactly what we do: we live, we eat, we laugh, we argue, we listen, we care about each other. It sounds so simple. It is simple, but not always easy. I find myself entwined with so many people’s minds and hearts. I share joy, frustration, anger, and love with all who are a part of this house.” (Kent Linder, 1996)
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"The first few weeks I spent all my time at the Dan Corcoran House. I loved reading and playing with the two kids who were guests then. I was there on my days off as well as when I was scheduled to be on. One of the guests even said, “We like you and everything, but do you ever take time for yourself?” I learned that in order to stay sane and happy, you have to have time for yourself. . . .
"Every Wednesday evening, we distributed food in low-income housing from extra food given to us. The children of the neighborhoods wanted to deliver the food door-to-door. We would give them a box and they would come back with no food left. They did a better job than us. It was great to see so many kids care so much about their neighbors." (Jeny Carlin, 2004)