Episode 103: Capuchin Soup Kitchen

Brother Fred discusses the 7 major areas of service provided by the Capuchin Soup Kitchen to serve our community members in need.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 4 (00:01):
Welcome to Light Up the D.

Speaker 1 (00:03):
I'll focus on what's happening in our community for the
people who make it happen. Here's your host, iHeartMedia Detroit
Market President Colleen Grant.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Good morning and welcome to Light at the D. I'm
your host, Colleen Grant, Thanks for joining me today. Today
we get to hear from Brother Fred Cabris, a Capuchin
Friar from PAP Paul Michigan. He serves as director of
Social Services for the Capuchin Soup Kitchen. Both a priest
and a licensed clinical social worker, his vocation is rooted
in walking with people on the margins, blending faith and

(00:38):
professional care. More information on the Captain Soup Kitchen can
be found at Cskdetroit dot org. Please join me and
welcoming Brother Fred Cabris. Welcome, Brother Fred.

Speaker 3 (00:49):
Thank you Collen. I really I am honored to be here.
And hello everyone. It's so wonderful to be speaking to you,
and I hope everyone is having a great day.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
Oh wonderful. Well, let's let everybody know the wonderful things
you're doing at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen. Yes, when people
hear Capuchin Soup Kitchen, they might picture just a meal line.
But there's so much more that you guys do. What's
the bigger story of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen in Detroit?

Speaker 4 (01:12):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (01:12):
And I loved telling this story because I think a
lot of people think that we are just providing hot meals,
which we do and is wonderful. But we have seven
programs over five different buildings that are helping those who
are in need. So we have our Capuch Services Center,
which provides grocery, guest choice groceries and clothing for folks.

(01:33):
We also have two residential programs, our Rope reaching our
potential every day for guys coming out of prison or
a drug rehoabilitation, substance use program.

Speaker 4 (01:44):
Then we have our Jay House program.

Speaker 3 (01:46):
Which is a residential program for guys who are looking
for substance use disorder support. We also have Earthworks, which
is our urban garden located at our Meldrum location. And
then we have our Rosa Parks Children's and Youth Program,
which is at our kind of location. It's an after
school program helping to create a safe space for kids.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
Wow, way more lot. That's much more than a meal line.
How do you keep all that straight?

Speaker 4 (02:15):
Oh? My gosh, it's a lot. And we also have
the bakery.

Speaker 3 (02:17):
I forgot to mention the bakery part of the road
program on the Rise bakery at our Solanas Casey Center,
So the guys in the road program make the breads
and the pastries that are then served out either the
parishes or at the cafe.

Speaker 2 (02:30):
And about how many people are you helping every day?

Speaker 3 (02:33):
For the Services center, we are serving about one hundred
and seventy five families a day at our meal site
for over one thousand meals a day.

Speaker 4 (02:43):
And then.

Speaker 3 (02:45):
On the Rise we're probably getting two to three hundred
people that are coming through.

Speaker 4 (02:53):
The cafe every day.

Speaker 2 (02:54):
So depending on the Services center, one hundreds to like
you said, over one thousand people a day.

Speaker 4 (03:00):
A That's it's a lot.

Speaker 3 (03:02):
It's a lot of meals, a lot of a lot
of clothes, a lot of food that were giving out.
Last year alone, we gave about two point five million
pounds of food to families in need.

Speaker 2 (03:14):
Wow, well, Detroit, Detroit is a city of resilience.

Speaker 4 (03:18):
Sorry, that was three point five.

Speaker 2 (03:19):
Three point five Yeah, let's time that up a million
more than you mentioned. So that's incredible.

Speaker 4 (03:24):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (03:24):
Wow, uh so Detroit, you know, obviously a city of resilience,
but also clearly from what you've said, great need. What
are you seeing among the people who walk through your
doors every day?

Speaker 3 (03:34):
We're seeing a great need. Our numbers are increasing three
to four percent every single week, every single month.

Speaker 4 (03:42):
We're seeing more people.

Speaker 3 (03:44):
The poverty rate in the Detroit is on the rise
to thirty four point five percent, wow, twenty four and
so we're just seeing more people in need and more
families that are not able to you know, they don't
need the full need of the kitchen, but they need
additional support, right They need just a little help because

(04:04):
you know, food is expensive right now, and so is clothing,
and so any other support that they can get to
help alleviate some of those bills, we're happy to offer.

Speaker 2 (04:16):
Yeah, so you had mentioned the seven different areas. You
just mentioned that you know you do more than meals,
you do bills. What are some of the deeper needs
that you guys meet beyond meals?

Speaker 4 (04:26):
A lot?

Speaker 3 (04:28):
So we do a lot of partnerships with a lot
of different organizations. We are doing not only with the
services center of the pantry choice right with the grocery
items and the clothing at our soup kitchens. We're partnering
with Henry Ford to get eyeglasses. We're partnering with DWIN

(04:48):
and other organizations MSU to get doctors and nurses out
to see the folks because one of the biggest barriers,
one of the challenges is healthcare and access to health
especially for folks experiencing homelessness, and so if we can
provide that service for them, that is great because in
there coming for a meal, they can get the additional

(05:10):
healthcare support that they need and then obviously a rope
in jay House. Programs are helping people to really get
a new lease on life right Like, you know, they've
had the challenge of substance use, of being in prisoner
in jail, and that can be devastating for people's lives.
You know, they don't know how to restart, they don't

(05:31):
know what to do, and so these programs can really
help them to get that in that fresh start. They
can give them that boots on the ground and really
be able to support them to make the changes that
they need.

Speaker 2 (05:43):
One of the things that's really unique about the caption
Soup Kitchen is that you meet people where they are,
tell us what does that mean and what does that
look like? In practice.

Speaker 3 (05:51):
Yeah, so that's a little bit of my fault because
I'm a social worker and in social work training they
always teach you to meet folks where they are. And
what that means for the caputshin the soup kitchen is
that we are a place of welcome and support no
matter where you are, no matter who you are, no
matter where you're coming from. We're not looking at your

(06:14):
bills and saying, oh, you can afford your own food,
you don't need us. Come on and you need food,
We'll give you food you need. You can come down
on Saturday and get a meal. Anybody can walk in
the door and get a meal and really support them
where they are and help them not create any further
barriers because they have enough barriers already as it is,

(06:36):
and so not creating those barriers being a support being
accompanying them, right like, so walking with them. It's that
kind of buzzword that's happening going around in the church
and going around in the world, that accompaniment piece. And
that's what we do is we walk with the folks.
We're not we're not like leading them, we're not like

(06:57):
pushing them. We're walking with them, God with them. What
do you need? How can we help? What can we do?
And that's what we do to meet them where they're at.

Speaker 2 (07:06):
And you had mentioned you provide clothing, food essentials, recovery services.
What does it mean for families to walk out with
their sense of worth intact? Because from what you had
just said, it's you know, giving without judgment and walking alongside.
So you know that is a definite operating philosophy that

(07:28):
you guys have. And tell me more about that.

Speaker 3 (07:31):
Yeah, I mean one of the things that we're pantry
choice right for the services center. So what that means
is when the guest comes in, and let me clarify,
we call them guests. We don't call them clients. We
don't call them what other term people use. We call
them guests because they are guests in our home.

Speaker 4 (07:48):
Guests.

Speaker 2 (07:49):
The word guest makes you feel lucky to have them. Yeah,
I mean even you know what I mean, Like when
somebody has a guest over, they're lucky they're visiting.

Speaker 3 (07:56):
Right exactly, And we want them to feel Hospitalities huge
core element of who we are as friars, and we
want to make them feel welcome, and so by doing that,
we have a guest choice pantry, so they get to
pick what food they want. We don't give them a box.
We don't we say here, you choose. The pantry is

(08:16):
set up like a grocery store, clothing is set up
like a thrift store. They get to choose what they want,
so that gives them a safe space. They don't have
to worry about anything at that moment. They can leave
their worries at the door because they know they're being
taken care of. They know that they're being loved and respected,
they know that they are being welcomed, so they can

(08:39):
leave their worries at the door. They'll be back when
they get out, but for a moment, they get a
safe space to be able to feel that supportive.

Speaker 2 (08:48):
Love well and on being able to choose.

Speaker 3 (08:51):
Yeah, choosing is giving them the empowerment. Yeah, to be
able to choose what they want because they know their diets,
they know what they like, what they don't like, so
they get to choose what the foods and we try
to keep I'm getting better at it.

Speaker 4 (09:06):
I'm new to the role of.

Speaker 3 (09:07):
The pantry and trying to make sure that we keep
up undern off variety. We're not a grocery stores, so
we can't keep up too much variety, but we try
to keep up as much as we can, so that
and new products, fresh products. You know, Detroit is a
food desert and so there's not a lot of fresh produce.
So Gleaners is a huge partner with us making sure
that we have milk for every single family that comes through.

Speaker 4 (09:31):
They give us fresh produce so we can give out.
You know, we're.

Speaker 3 (09:34):
Always having potatoes and peppers and onions and all kinds
of stuff that we're putting out there. And I do
a recipe of a month to kind of showcase some
new recipes that we have. Items that we sell that
we give We don't sell because we don't charge anything,
but give them new ideas for recipes for meals.

Speaker 2 (09:54):
I love that. Yeah, and special shout out to Gleaners.

Speaker 3 (09:57):
Yes, yes, they're absolutely wonderful. We couldn't do the work
without them.

Speaker 2 (10:01):
You mentioned fresh produce, and I have personally done some
volunteering at Earthworks Urban Farm, which was amazing and I
hate the next day I'll admit and realize I really
not doing It's hard work. Hard work, it is, and
we can always use more volunteers.

Speaker 4 (10:18):
And Earthworks, especially during harvest season.

Speaker 2 (10:22):
Yeah, so if you like gardening and you like being
working with earth, it's you replaced. But Earthworks Urban Farm
it's a really powerful part of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen
ministry and I was delighted to have a better understanding
about it. But why bring farming, you know, and farming, live, farming,
nutrition and community together in the middle of Detroit. You

(10:43):
mentioned Detroit being a food doesnt desert?

Speaker 3 (10:46):
Yep, Yeah, so there's a lot of land that can
be utilized for So one of the challenges with Detroit
why they call it a food desert is because if
you look at the grocery stores, there's not a lot
of big grocery stores in the Detroit area where people
are able to pick up fresh produce from. So they're
getting a lot of their food from convenience stores, gas stations,

(11:06):
fast food places like that. So there's this growing urban
farming community. Keep growing Detroit. We give them over sixty
thousand seedlings every year, which is about twenty percent of
the seedlings that they give out to the markets and

(11:28):
to other farms and other places. Although seedlings come from
from the farm, from Earthworks and so it sort of
allows us to grow produce to be able to then
give out to folks. About eighty to ninety percent of
our produce that comes from the earthworks is actually used

(11:48):
in the food at the soup kitchen at the meals,
so we're giving them fresh products there and then some
stuff goes to the service to Center and then we
have a market that we give out food to folks
as well.

Speaker 2 (12:00):
It's wonderful if you're just joining us. We're joined today
by Brother Fred Cabris, he's director of social services for
the Capuchin Soup Kitchen. For listeners who may not know
you had mentioned a couple of your seven different areas
of service. What are the Jefferson House, the ROPE Program
and on the Rice Bakery.

Speaker 3 (12:20):
Yeah, so those are two residential programs. Those are four men.
So ROPE is reaching our potential every day. That's what
the acronym stands for. And it is a residential program
about a year long program for guys who are coming
out of prison or coming out of a substance use
disorder program. And what they get to do is they

(12:40):
learn how to bake, a great skill that I am
not good at.

Speaker 4 (12:45):
So maybe I should join the program.

Speaker 3 (12:47):
Yeah, but it is they learn how to bake breads, cookies, pastries,
all those kinds of stuff, and then we sell them
at the On the Rise Cafe at the Salonas Casey
Center right off of Mount Elliott. And then we also
go to parishes over the weekend and sell at different

(13:07):
parishes the breads and the cookies and the pastries as well.
So it's a really great opportunity for them to a
get their kind of boots on the ground and also
get a job, right because one of the biggest challenges
for guys coming out of prison is no one wants
to hire them because of their record, right, and so

(13:28):
it's a huge challenge for them. Then we have the
Jefferson House, which is our substance use disorder program. That
is a six month program which is absolutely unheard of
in the substance use world.

Speaker 4 (13:39):
It's completely free.

Speaker 3 (13:40):
Both all of our services of the compish in Soup
Kitchen are completely free. We do not charge a single
dime for any service that we provide to our folks.
But it's a six month program, pretty intensive program, and
they when they get out, they actually work with the
Soup Kitchen and they get they earn money there and

(14:01):
then when they get out, they actually have money in
their bank account to be able to put down for
like a car or an apartment or something like that,
get a job. Many of them actually come work for
us after the program. So it's a really great substance
use to sort a program.

Speaker 2 (14:21):
Yeah. So they you had mentioned after incarceration, like it's
hard to get a job, so difficult, right, So I
mean being able to get that experience and say you know,
I work a yeah.

Speaker 3 (14:32):
Yeah, and then they took a chance on us, right,
because the biggest thing is taking that chance on somebody.
And we give people second, third, sometimes even four chances.
You know, when we take that chance on the folks
and we say, okay, we're gonna we're gonna walk along
the side of you.

Speaker 4 (14:50):
We're not going to do the work for you. The
program is their work.

Speaker 3 (14:54):
The program, the program is good, we will walk alongside you.
And the work is hard, it's not easy, but if
you can successfully make it through, you're going to step
in a direction that's so much better than when you started.

Speaker 2 (15:07):
Yeah, in six months in your substance recovery, six.

Speaker 3 (15:11):
Months, that's unheard of. You can't even I mean, most
residential programs are thirty days sometimes even less. And most
of the time it's using suboxin or other types of
drugs that are helping you with that. We don't use
any of that type of support program. So it's all

(15:32):
on willpower and the power of the person.

Speaker 4 (15:37):
Wow, that's a.

Speaker 2 (15:37):
Program, really something. And so what's it like for these
men coming out of the Jefferson House for the Road
program when they get this chance to start fresh.

Speaker 4 (15:46):
Life changing. I can't say that enough.

Speaker 3 (15:49):
I mean, I think the guys that have come out
just have been able a new lease on life.

Speaker 4 (15:53):
Right.

Speaker 3 (15:54):
They got the support that they needed, they got to
love the accompaniment, right, they got the opportunittunity to you know,
we all make mistakes.

Speaker 4 (16:02):
I make mistakes every day.

Speaker 3 (16:04):
I know I'm a priest, but and I'm not supposed
to make mistakes, but I do every day. But sometimes
we are fined by our worst mistakes. And this is
an opportunity for them not to be defined by those mistakes.
It's an opportunity for them to be able to grow,
to connect to that self, to that person that they

(16:26):
are outside of the mistakes that they made.

Speaker 4 (16:29):
They made the mistakes. It's over, it's done, Let's move forward.

Speaker 2 (16:33):
Let's move up the Capuchin soup kitchen is rooted in faith.
You know, you just mentioned being a priest, but you
welcome everyone. How do you balance Catholic identity with serving
people of all sorts of backgrounds.

Speaker 3 (16:45):
There's a saying that goes that faith is the why
and how is the radical hospitality for all Right, So
faith is why we're doing it right, because our love
for dignity for all people is why we do it,
and our hospitality is really the how and how we're.

Speaker 4 (17:05):
Able to just support people. Right.

Speaker 3 (17:07):
Like I said, anybody that walks in the door, we
will help you. It does not matter who you are,
where you come from, what your story is, it doesn't matter.
We will be there for you and we will do
what we can and if we can help you, we
will give you the resources to be able to get
the help that you need. Because we can't solve all
the problems. We know that, but we have so many,

(17:28):
so many great partners. I can't even We'd spend the
entire show talking about all the partners that we have,
and we just say, hey, go to leaders to keep
going Detroit, go to Henry Ford. Here are the partners
that can help you through this.

Speaker 2 (17:46):
Well, partners are important, that's for sure. And so let's
talk a little bit about partners. They make a big difference.
What are some of the ways corporations, schools, and community
groups have walked alongside you?

Speaker 4 (17:57):
Yeah, so so many ways.

Speaker 3 (17:59):
We have a wonderful corporate director, Lindsay Dafasio Meyers. She's
just absolutely wonderful. If you don't know her, you should
get to know her. She is really great and really
bringing a lot of the corporations in to help us,
not only financially, but also supporting us in different ways,
whether it's through getting hats or getting diapers through Amazon,

(18:23):
or getting financial support for the food. We do have
a corporate sponsorship program on our website website CSK.

Speaker 4 (18:32):
Detroit dot org.

Speaker 3 (18:32):
So if you're owning a business and want to support us,
there's different options for them to support us. You're always
welcome to do your corporate volunteer day at the Services
Center or any of our soup kitchens. We love having
big groups. Henry Ford comes has a big group. We
also have Camerica Park. We had some of the Tigers over,
some of the Tigers' wives over not too long ago.

(18:56):
So because our volunteers are really important, not only the
financial contributions are important because we've got to buy the food,
but also our volunteers we got to shock stock the
shelves and having that warm person to say hello and
say hi and how can I help you is really
great for our guest.

Speaker 2 (19:14):
So donors make it all possible. But volunteers are absolutely
the volunteers. They're the mission in action.

Speaker 1 (19:24):
Right.

Speaker 2 (19:25):
So for somebody listening, if they're like this sounds kind
of cool, like what is it like for a volunteer
with the Capuchins.

Speaker 3 (19:30):
Yeah, So there's a lot of different opportunities. So Earthworks,
like I said, during the harvest season, there's a lot
If you love gardening, which I do not, please volunteer.

Speaker 4 (19:42):
I'm not good at gardening. I just burry plants, get it.
I pick everything out. I'm like, this looks like a weed.

Speaker 2 (19:49):
I think I did that a couple of times. I
had to be corrected, right, Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 3 (19:56):
So we have the Earthworks where they're able to help
out the services center. They're able to stock shells, sort
through clothing at our soup kitchens. They're able to help
serve food, greet the guests, clean the tables. We have
opportunities it's on our website. There's I'll give a description
of what happens in the process. You go through Volunteer

(20:19):
Hub and this is a quick background check and then
you can sign up for various different shifts.

Speaker 2 (20:26):
That's great. Yeah, so Detroit, you know it has many
many groups tackling poverty and homelessness. How does the Captain
Soup Kitchen fit into the bigger movement with all these organizations?

Speaker 3 (20:40):
For us, I think it's we believe in collaboration on competition,
So we're not in competition with anybody. We're just helping
alongside of all the other folks that are helping and
staying in staying in communication with them, like we're in
communication with.

Speaker 4 (20:54):
A lot of the folks. Let's do this together.

Speaker 3 (20:57):
Catholic Charities is the huge organization that we work with
and partner with a lot of times.

Speaker 4 (21:03):
We'll partner with the School Drive.

Speaker 3 (21:05):
We'll give them some of our backpacks that we collect
so they can give them out. They'll come out and
help us, We'll help them with different projects, back and forth.
Its this camaraderie, collaboration and that's the best way to
do it, is working together so that make sure that
everybody gets served.

Speaker 2 (21:22):
Yeah, and like you said, if you don't have the resources,
you'll find somebody who does.

Speaker 4 (21:27):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (21:27):
Yeah, I mean one of the big things, like so
Gleaners and Cots were actually the compish in Soup Kitchen.
Wasn't their upbringing part of starting both Gleaners and Cots.
So the executive director at the time said, Okay, we'll
support you, but this is not going to be part
of the Soup Kitchen because we don't want to grow
too big.

Speaker 4 (21:47):
So we kind of help them get started.

Speaker 3 (21:49):
And now there are two big, huge organizations that are
supporting Detroit.

Speaker 2 (21:54):
Wow. Who would have thought that's really something that's quite
a history that probably a lot of people know.

Speaker 4 (22:00):
About a lot of people don't know about it.

Speaker 2 (22:01):
Yet I love that. Well then that you guys are
really like quite tight.

Speaker 4 (22:05):
Then yes, I mean, we've been in the community for
over one hundred years.

Speaker 3 (22:11):
And we've been serving as best. We started serving sandwiches
out of the back of our monastery father home and bus,
and the Secular Franciscans and Father Salonas started helping and
that's how the Soup Kitchen got started. And then the
Secular Franciscans helped to give us the building and create

(22:31):
the first soup kitchen. And now we're grown into seven
programs and by buildings.

Speaker 2 (22:37):
Right wow, incredible. Yeah, So looking ahead, what's new and
exciting on the horizon. Any projects or dreams that excite
you most, maybe things that people can get behind.

Speaker 4 (22:47):
Yeah, yeah, definitely.

Speaker 3 (22:48):
So we're actually moving the bakery from the grassHer location
and we are building a new bakery and a residential
So we have a house that's right by the bakery,
and so we're going to be building housing above the
bakery and it's going to be right across from the
On the Rise cafe by the Saloni's Casey Center. So

(23:10):
less having to move from one place to another. So
at a nice new bakery, a nice new residential spot
for the rope guys.

Speaker 2 (23:19):
Wow, if that's a big deal, that's huge.

Speaker 3 (23:22):
Yeah, that's gonna that's our next big, big build. And
then we're always we're always updating. I feel I feel
bad for brother Gary, who's the executive director, because oftentimes
when I call him, he's like, how much is this
going to cost me? Because I'm always coming up with
new ideas, you know, looking for new partners to try
to change things up, make the place feel more welcoming,

(23:47):
to try to make people really feel loved.

Speaker 2 (23:51):
Well and all that requires donors and the support of
the community. Yeah, so don't hesitate if you're listening and inspired.

Speaker 4 (23:59):
Yeah, please, we will take it any amountain.

Speaker 2 (24:02):
Yeah, any mount or any volunteering.

Speaker 4 (24:05):
Any volunteering. We love to have our volunteers.

Speaker 2 (24:07):
Takes all handskes a village. Right. For somebody listening right now,
what's the single most important thing you want them to
know about this Capution Soup Kitchen.

Speaker 3 (24:17):
I think the biggest thing is to let people know
that we're more than meals, right, Like we do provide
hot meals, but we are providing so much more, and
we're doing so much to help the community break down
as many barriers as possible. We're not going to be
able to break them all down. We're not going to
be able to solve poverty. We're not going to be
able to end homelessness. But we could change a person's

(24:38):
life to at the stop for a day, have a
meal for a day so they're not hungry, have a
space to go to to get groceries to help feed
their kids or feed their family. You know, we're not
going to solve everything, but with the help of our
donors and the help of our volunteers.

Speaker 4 (24:54):
We're going to stop it for a day.

Speaker 2 (24:57):
Let's get to know you a little bit. Oh you're
from pap Paw, Yes, you know, just down the road.

Speaker 4 (25:04):
Yeah, two and a half hours hour.

Speaker 2 (25:06):
Is that not too far away? How did you end
up becoming a Friar?

Speaker 4 (25:11):
So?

Speaker 3 (25:11):
I actually was in Chicago where I was getting my
bachelor's degree and in psychology, yep, and I realized dating
wasn't going so well, and so I started looking at like, oh.

Speaker 4 (25:28):
Do I have a vocation? Do I not?

Speaker 3 (25:31):
So I started discerning. I met the Friars in Chicago.
I actually came to Detroit, funny enough, and I came
to the soup kitchen and I was like, I want
to be here because everything that my parents taught me.

Speaker 4 (25:43):
God bless them both. They're both with us still.

Speaker 3 (25:45):
My mom's struggling a little bit right now, but she's
doing well. They taught me to care for the other.
It's not about me, it's about the other. It's always
about the other. My mom helped start a domestic violence
phone line.

Speaker 4 (26:01):
My day.

Speaker 3 (26:01):
I did a lot of work with the Knights of Columbus.
So all everything ingrained in me is about the other person,
and when I saw what we do at the soup kitchen,
I was like, I want to be a part of this,
and so I was like, already, where do I sign up?
So I signed up, went through formation and got my
master's degree in social work and a master's in divinity

(26:21):
for ordination at the same time. I would not recommend that.
That was three years of intense, two different universities, two
different masters programs.

Speaker 4 (26:29):
It was intense.

Speaker 3 (26:32):
And then I got licensed at Northwestern Memorial Hospital worked
as an inpatient psychiatric social worker and also an emergency
room social worker, so got my clinical training there and
then I once I finished out, I moved to Detroit.

Speaker 2 (26:47):
Did your formation happen here?

Speaker 4 (26:49):
Nope, in Chicago.

Speaker 2 (26:49):
It was in Chicago.

Speaker 3 (26:51):
Our first level of formation is in Milwaukee, second level
NOVISHIATA is in California with the other provinces in the US,
and then Postnavish it is in Chicago where we go
to Catholic Theological Union, where the Pope went. So I
went to the same university of the pope one, which
is kind of cool.

Speaker 2 (27:09):
I love how everybody's like claiming the Pope co Chicago
want it to a friendyone to Villanova and he's like,
you know the pope one. Yeah, I mean everybody's claiming
the pope.

Speaker 4 (27:19):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3 (27:20):
Even though he's a Sox fan and I'm a Cubs fan,
you know, I'm not going to hold that him against him.
His mother was a Cubs fan, so love her for that.

Speaker 2 (27:30):
So if somebody's just joining us today, let's remind them
of the seven areas that you guys do. Did that
make you more than just a meal sir, a meal
line or a meal service, because that really is the
point of the expansive like ways that you touch people's lives.
Let's just give everybody a reminder of those things.

Speaker 4 (27:46):
Sure.

Speaker 3 (27:47):
So we have seven programs in five sites. So we
obviously have the two meal sites which are Connor and Maldum.
Then we had the Coppish and Services Center which is
off of Medbury on I ninety four and mont Ellie
and that is a pantry choice guest choice for food
and clothing. We also have Earthworks Urban Farming.

Speaker 4 (28:10):
Farm. Then we have.

Speaker 3 (28:12):
Two residential programs, our Road Program reaching our potential every
day for guys coming out of incarceration and Jefferson House,
which is a residential program for guys coming needing substance
use disorder. We also have a Rosa Parks Children's and
Youth program, which is an after school program at our
counter location.

Speaker 4 (28:34):
And I think that is it. That's a lot.

Speaker 2 (28:38):
It is how can people become a part of the mission.
What's the first step that they would need to take?

Speaker 3 (28:43):
Yeah, just go to our website Cskdetroit dot org. Volunteer
opportunities are their donor opportunities are there if you're a
corporation and want to learn how you can participate in
donating or volunteering. All of that is on our website
and contact Lindsay Defasiomayer if you're a corporation, should love

(29:05):
to talk to you how you can get involved in.

Speaker 2 (29:08):
Hey, what's your favorite thing about what you do? Brother Fred?

Speaker 3 (29:11):
Meeting people and changing their lives and giving them a
space to feel loved. I think we live in a
world that is challenging. We live in a world that
is divided. It's difficult. We're all face with different challenges.
I mean, I had to spend the weekend with my
mom in the hospital. We're all faced with different challenges

(29:33):
in our lives. But to be able to bring a
space where people can feel loved, feel supported, and feel welcomed.
If I can do that, then I'm good. Then I'm happy.

Speaker 2 (29:45):
Our guest has been Brother Fred Caprice, director of social
services for the Capuchin Soup Kitchen. Thanks for joining us today, Brother,
Thank you.

Speaker 4 (29:52):
So much, God bless you.

Speaker 1 (29:54):
This has been light up the d A community. A
fierce program from iHeartMedia Detroit. If your organization would like
to get on the program, email Colleen Grant at iHeartMedia
dot com. Here are all episodes on this station's podcast page.