Cleanup job

Effective Compassion: At Pennsylvania shelter, cleansing starts on the inside | Victoria Holowink

CHESTER, Pa. — Two rows of brick-façade buildings bake in the sunlight on either side of dusty Sproul Street here. Inside one of the buildings, an unlocked door leads down a shiny linoleum hallway to a chapel-turned-classroom where a class made up of 33 freshly showered men meets in red velvet church pews and folding chairs. In their midst, a tall, slightly balding, middle-aged pastor offers encouraging jabs of Scripture and psychological insights in spirited torrents of street lingo. Sunlight pours through the stained glass and multicolored banners festoon the walls with "Hallelujah," "He Lives," and "Our Refuge."

The CityTeam Ministries Drug and Alcohol Recovery Discipleship program begins with a meeting like this every day. Along with specialized education, job training, and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, Bible studies are a core component of the nine- to 30-month program, which accepts any drug-addicted homeless man who is willing to commit to change.