by Tom Hoffarth
Sister Michele Marie Morris remembers so many twists and turns along the House of Yahweh’s journey for the House of Yahweh non-profit organization, for all it has taken her and her staff through the South Bay over the last 40 years.
Sister Michele Marie Morris officially retired from the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet five years ago. But at 90, she continues with the work she began 40 years ago when she founded the House of Yahweh.
“I only work in the present with the light I get from God at that moment,” she said, eyes gleaming as she sat at a meeting room table in the organization’s in-need-of-repair office trailer recently in Lawndale.
“I don’t plan ahead. You go step by step and things just evolve, one miracle after another.”
That day-to-day proposition, relying on Sr. Michele’s vision and executive director Donna Quirk’s oversight with a staff of seven employees, goes back to what fueled the original idea to minister to those facing food insecurity and homelessness when the organization came into being in 1982.
One of the most notable pivots in the organization’s path came in 2008 with the opening of a thrift store in a heavily-traveled area of Artesia Blvd., in Redondo Beach. That lasted 10 years.
“The employees and the customer made that place strong,” said Sr. Michele, noting the store also gave out referrals to those seeking help. “It was a quaint store. The employees knew the customers – they were called ‘thrifters’ – and I knew it was a good fit because I walked Artesia Blvd., and knew it would work. I saw it as an opportunity and went with it.”
Sales couldn’t keep up with the rent increases, so five years ago, she moved the thrift store to the office and food distribution location on Marine Ave., in Lawndale between Hawthorne Blvd. and Prairie Avenue.
Donations coming off the Avis Street entrance fill the 5,000-square foot portable structure thrift store facility, managed by Denys San Martin. Clothes, shoes, blankets and hygiene kits go out to more than 125 people a month.
Quirk, who came on in 2015 out of the corporate world of human resources to head the transitional housing program, graduated to administrator and was promoted to her current leadership role in 2018.
“ I’ve been on this pair of roller skates ever since,” said Quirk with a laugh. She first connected with Sr. Michele when the two were parishioners at St. Raymond’s in Downey and discovered their common interest in animal care.
The House of Yahweh’s resiliency mirrors the stories of the people it has served over decades.
The organization’s 41st year of operations started Nov. 1, 2023, with its annual Thanksgiving distribution of turkeys, hams and gift cards. It has since moved to collecting toys to disburse in the days before Christmas.
But it is the year-around connection to those in the South Bay who experience food insecurity, need clothing and might be struggling to apply for vital services that has kept House of Yahweh true to its mission statement: “To serve the economically disadvantaged, especially women and children, so they can attain greater fullness of life.”
Sr. Michele said she was doing administration work at St. Catherine Laboure Catholic Church in Torrance when the pastor came across a person experiencing homelessness sleeping in a church building.
“That was a wake-up call, and I was the one to wake ‘em up,” said Sr. Michele, who recruited the local deacon and two others to start brainstorming with the parish council.
“Those renewal weekends were intense, but it was the perfect moment. You’re irresponsible if you try to wake the people up without giving them something to do. That was the spark.”
Through her connections at many local Catholic parishes, going back to her teaching days in the 1960s, Sr. Michele did her due diligence on starting a 501c3 called South Bay Outreach Center.
But the true organizational name came from another spark — a moment when Sr. Michele and her right-hand assistant, Lyndon Reid, were praying with a Jerusalem Bible translation of the Good Shepherd psalm. The last line read: “My home, the House of Yahweh, forever.”
“The spirit moved me to name it right then and there,” said Sr. Michele, who soon came across a graphic artist who created a burning-bush logo to represent the movement.
She went fundraising and soon found property across the street from Lawndale City Hall, left behind by another non-profit that moved. She launched a soup kitchen and make-shift thrift store.
One of the guests who regularly came by for hot meals worked at a trailer park a few blocks away and had empty spaces. An appeal through local Catholic Church bulletins went out for those who could donate trailers to be used as temporary shelters. They ended up with 10 spaces.
Although the House of Yahweh no longer offers transitional housing, it has benefited from a reorganization that happened upon Sr. Michele’s 2017 retirement. It includes a food distribution run by long-time employee Mirna Anaya that takes care of some 400 local families registered for pickups. A permanent mailing address is being provided for more than 150 homeless guests.
A steady pool of donors and income from fundraisers has led to a volunteer base that came back stronger after the pandemic.
The Catholic-based organization is open to people of all denominations.
“I’m always surprised by people who are afraid to ask for help,” said Quirk. “It just seems they are afraid and don’t know how. You call us, make an appointment, and we will give you an hour of uninterrupted time to work with you on your needs.”
Bob Breen, an American Martyrs Catholic Church volunteer from Manhattan Beach, said he responded to a bulletin asking about needing a driver for homebound food delivery. That led him to helping in the thrift store as a fill-in cashier.
“It’s a wonderful mission for those in need from our own neighborhood,” said Breen, whose son, Tim, was recently ordained as a Jesuit priest. “I see people who come into the store able to buy almost everything, and some who just have 25 cents in their hands. We make sure they get what they need.”
Sr. Michele visits the House of Yahweh facility every Monday to meet with guests. She also gathers donut donations to deliver to her acutely ailing Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet brethren in assisted living in Santa Monica.
Some may call her the patron saint of the organization, but she bristles at that. The focus, she insists, is not on her but on the ability to maintain the trust with one-to-one relationships formed with guests, some that go back to its opening 40 years ago.“This is God’s house, it doesn’t belong to me – it’s not mine,” she said. “This is a holy place. It is where you have to be a listener. That’s how you honor someone. It’s unconditional love. We can get caught up in the doing and miss just being.
“Each day is a new adventure. I think that’s what keeps House of Yahweh going.”
For more about the House of Yahweh, visit CSJLA.org, or Hoy-SouthBay.org. ER
