Maureen continues, "It seemed that I was the only adequately housed person among us. Jennifer had just escaped from an abusive arrangement and needed a secure place to stay, and Sara's roommates had left her high and dry. I was living in a beautifully appointed six bedroom home in one of Vancouver's most prestigious neighborhoods. All alone. And I was feeling all alone. Both my friends showed me the kindness of coming to live with me.
"At that time we were each feeling a deep dissatisfaction with our own faith communities, and we felt strongly the need to begin praying together. Plus, the library had become a refuge for many of the community's broken and homeless. We really tried, each of us, to befriend some of them, to make them comfortable, and to try to connect them to social and mental health services. There was a young mother with a baby who could not find room in any of the women's shelters. We took her home with us. It went well, they were with us for about six months before housing became available for them, and we are still friends.
"There were others who benefited from our hospitality. The neighbours were none too pleased and we were being less than subtly accused of endangering them and lowering their property values. But there were no incidents. None. We must have had as many as twenty different folks brought home to rest, heal and recover and get connected with housing. They were not exactly supportive at the library, and there was concern that we might set a bad precedence, but others, including top management, secretly, and even openly supported us.
"It all went rather well for about three years, and then Satan threw us a curveball. His name was Jean-Pierre..."
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