Laura Sheahen

You’ve worked with a lot of hunger-relief organizations in New York City. What prompted you to start working with Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen?

My relationship with Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen started years ago. They were one of the few safe havens for people living with AIDS way back when there was such a stigma with AIDS. They stepped into the breach with counselling. I had a lot of friends who were fighting not only the disease but, at that time, the humiliation and the secret of having the disease. I’m a native New Yorker. Everything to do with New York feels like my family. Home means so much to me. Even before I had children, I was one of those people that always had an extended family of friends. The dilemma of homelessness — seeing people without a home, without their basic needs fulfilled always really affected me. It’s always been very difficult for me to see people on the street. So I initially gravitated towards solving those problems.

People often burn out on soup kitchen work or humanitarian work like helping the homeless. What keeps you going given the magnitude of the problem?

It can be discouraging whenever you’re dealing with an ongoing problem. But as opposed to something like politics, where it’s frustrating because there are so many lies involved and so much haggling, wh-en you’re dealing one on one with people, you meet the most inspiring people. Interview with Susan Sarandon. — Beliefnet.com