Originally posted on GoErie/Erie Times News on Nov. 7, 2024

Opinion: What working for Emmaus among Erie’s most vulnerable people has taught me

By: Amy VanScoter

Lately, I have been focused on the challenges experienced in Western North Carolina after the devastation of Hurricane Helene at the end of September. When I was in my late 20s, I left my hometown of Erie to go live in Asheville, North Carolina, for many years. Like many Erieites, I eventually made my way back to be closer to my family. I can’t help but wonder, what would life be like for me right now had I stayed? How would I be experiencing this new reality? The news cycle moves on to the next big story, but my social media remains full of old friends and coworkers who are trying their best to pick up the pieces and help others do the same. As I watch the videos and see the pictures of the areas I once called home, of the people who became friends and family, my compassion grows and my heart bursts. I can easily see myself in their shoes. I am reminded of our collective resilience and of those who will always do what it takes to serve a need and restore hope. I look for the things I can do from here, back in Erie, to take action.

My first year at Emmaus

As we head into the final months of the year, I also can’t help but feel reflective. One of the most meaningful parts of this year for me was beginning to work at Emmaus Ministries. I started there last December, entering into an organization that is now completing its 50th year in this city. Looking back on all that has been accomplished, what I have experienced in one single year, I am in awe of the goodness and growth that come from love and commitment. The organization started when a group of sisters began serving simple peanut butter sandwiches and soup to those in need, and decades later, it now offers groceries provided at the food pantry, hot meals served each weekday in the soup kitchen, fresh produce grown at Emmaus Grove, and programs that enrich lives and provide necessities. Time marches on and change is constant, but there are some things that remain the same, even over 50 years. And maybe not surprisingly, those are the things that continue to make the biggest impact.

Fifty years later, I am here as one of the handful of lay people who work for Emmaus, a witness and now a contributor to this legacy. How much gratitude I feel to be such a small part of an organization that shines a spotlight on helping those who are often forgotten and need help the most. How grateful to be among sisters, volunteers, and employees who are willing to live their lives with open hearts and do what it takes to help others wherever they may need it. As we enter the next 50 years, I contemplate what will remain the same in an organization and a country that is going through its own fair share of change.

During this past year, I have seen many families who have experienced more than their fair share and are having a hard time recovering. Sometimes, a series of life circumstances will lead a family down a path that seems farther and farther away from hope. Yet, the sisters remain a force and a presence of love, always willing to remind us that hope remains and that it is necessary to take action, stepping in whenever they see great need. They never seem to waver in doing what it takes to comfort and help however they can. This love stands the test of time.

Don’t look away, act

Sometimes we see something that makes us stop in our tracks, and take notice of a need. I urge you to not look away and let it propel you into action. Maybe it’s donating a coat, providing food to the neighborhood little pantry, or providing an act of service to a friend. The ability to experience empathy and place ourselves in someone else’s shoes can lead us to become one of those who steps in to fill a need, as the sisters have done for the past 50 years. In the simplest terms, what I have learned in this 50th year of Emmaus Ministries is to live with an open heart. To do my best to take action, help others, and fulfill a need when I see it. Doing good matters and makes a real difference. It stands the test of time. Continue to uplift one another and provide hope.