Gary Bowman was furloughed from his job in Dallas because of the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020, shortly after he converted to the Catholic faith and entered the Church at the Easter Vigil in 2019.
Already involved with helping others through the Church, he took some extra time while jobless to visit people on the street and give them sandwiches, snacks and bottled water.
Conversations led to a realization that many faced mental health challenges, Bowman told “Practicing Catholic” radio show Patrick Conley for a show premiering at 9 p.m. March 31 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM.
One woman he visited with in Dallas, for example, might at one moment have been talking about the weather and the next minute mention “the asteroid that took out the state of Minnesota,” Bowman said. “And so, it was like, just very clear that help was needed.”
Bowman said he later moved back to his native Minnesota and continued to help people on the street. He read about Servant of God Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement, considered God’s presence in his Divine Mercy and started what he is calling “Hospitality Houses for Divine Mercy.”
A parishioner of Holy Family in St. Louis Park, Bowman said he has discussed his effort with the pastor, Father Joseph Johnson, and is starting to fundraise with an eye toward establishing small houses or centers where people experiencing homelessness can receive help during the day, particularly with mental health issues.
Recognizing the ministry of Catholic Charities Twin Cities and the Salvation Army, Bowman told Conley that he hopes to establish help centers at a smaller scale, keeping in mind people who have mental health challenges and might be overwhelmed by larger programs.
Consulting with a Catholic psychotherapist and taking the first steps toward organizing a board of directors and managing other facets of such an effort, Bowman said he is open to volunteers, or better yet, people seeking discipleship, who can help.
Bowman’s website is hosphousesdivinemercy.org. He can also be reached at 612-469-4285.
To hear the full interview, listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which repeats at 1 p.m. April 1 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM and 2 p.m. April 2.
Also during the March 31 “Practicing Catholic” episode, Conley interviews Julie Craven, who works with restorative justice and healing at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis, and Mike Rios-Keating, social justice education manager at Catholic Charities Twin Cities, who discusses the Giving Basket as one way to help people in need.
Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingCatholicShow.com or choose a streaming platform at anchor.fm/practicing-catholic-show.
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