As a relatively new webreporter, I volunteered to write about New Foundations, an organization which the St. Joan of Arc Justice Fund has contributed to for the last three years. Mary Hartmann(right). There is no New Foundations without her. She is energetic, a lover of people, a charismatic fund-raiser that no one can resist, a wily politico who, with a smile, fights for the underdog. She’s also witty, funny, intelligent, and a friend of mine.

Mary says her early life defined her. As a child, she was poor, temporarily homeless and living with relatives, but never without love of family. Her father suffered from paranoid schizophrenia which, at one point, led him to burn the family house to the ground with his children trapped inside. Mary was 15 when she went to work as a nurses’ aide to help her mother support four children. After high school, she set up youth community centers and raised funds for them on the steps of the state capitol. When the Nixon administration refused to fund local Head Start centers, Mary called a press conference to show the need, and ultimately, the money came through. She successfully badgered the legislature for day care funds, and, as affirmative action director for Hennepin County, she initiated a training program to enable women and minorities to qualify for better paying jobs.

Mary Hartmann and MaLoyce Bell

The idea for New Foundations came when she was executive director of Wayside House, an organization serving poor women recovering from addiction. She realized that for treatment to work, women needed health care, employment, parenting and other skills. They needed long term support and services to change their lives. At the same time, she met MaLoyce Bell, an extraordinary woman who was going through treatment at Wayside House. Mary asked her to be the director of Wayside’s supportive housing program. Mary and MaLoyce then began dreaming about setting up an organization of their own which would help homeless, chemically dependent women and children by providing housing, a vibrant community and comprehensive services.

It was an almost impossible challenge and I’m not sure the women had much more in place than Mary’s enthusiasm when they launched New Foundations in St. Paul. It wasn’t long before some citizens heard that a community of homeless people was moving into their neighborhood. They raised hell. They called their councilman and mayor, and then they marched with their objections to a district council meeting. There they met Mary Hartmann who planted herself in the middle of the two most vocal protesters.

"I told them they’d have to talk louder and faster than me and that wasn’t going to be easy," Mary says. She then introduced them to a couple of their new neighbors. "These are the women and children you’re talking about. I thought you might like to meet them." The planning council then enthusiastically endorsed Mary’s proposal.

Jim Reiter, the now deceased councilman who helped find City money for New Foundations, also was originally opposed to the organization. But he became one of the group’s most ardent supporters. "Mary’s like P.T. Barnham," he was quoted as saying. "I don’t like most social programs...But she asked me to go along and look at the property....She had three or four women come and tell their stories; then a fourteen-year-old girl came, and she said the six months she’d been at New Foundations was the longest she’d lived with her mother in five years....I’m not a teary sort of guy, but, yeah, I’d have written a check right then."

After renting 20 apartments in a run-down, drug-infested property, New Foundations and its families forced out the drug dealers and made the whole block safer. Over 150 homeless families had to be turned away because New Foundations’ units were full. When the owners of the Crestview Apartments offered to sell the property, New Foundations asked Project for Pride in Living to join as partners to purchase, renovate, and operate the 32-unit buildings. New Foundations would select the homeless families who needed the most help, provide services and a supportive housing community; PPL would manage the property.

This time, they worked with strong community support, to raise additional funds to provide programs and services they knew would pay off. Today, having added a third apartment building with a center for the Crestview Community and program offices, the organization is able to provide safe, clean housing for fifty families who have lost their homes, their jobs, their friends, and sometimes most tragically, custody of their children. Crestview now houses 44 families. New Foundations helps them turn their lives around, reconnect with their children, and become productive members of the community. MaLoyce, who is now director of programs and services, says, "When residents walk in the door, we see that little glimmer of hope in their eyes and we can start to build on that hope, and eventually, they start to believe in themselves."

After arriving, each person benefits from an on-site intensive case management program and joins a support group. Incredibly, nine out of ten people are successful. Says one tenant, "The staff at New Foundations believed in me--nobody had ever done that before. I think that’s all I ever needed--for people to be honest with me, to help me grow up and learn to be honest with myself so I could learn to believe in myself."

Tenants are connected to community services which include recovery support, maintaining mental and physical health, teaching parenting skills, programs to prevent family violence, family literacy and work readiness programs, job retention support and involvement in children’s school success. Writes a mother who was homeless, chronically addicted to crack and unemployed, "Hi, MaLoyce, it’s me, Dar(pseudonym), and I am so excited I just had to write and tell you. I got a promotion. It’s a big promotion and it just so happened to double my salary and I’m on the management team. Recovery has been very blessed to me and my family. We live in a 5 bedroom house and have a dog. I love my job and it seems someone is watching over me. We all know who (smile), but I really do not believe I could have made it without all of my support and trust that I received at New Foundations."

Perhaps MaLoyce says it best. "The magic of this program is relationships; building trust within the community is what makes it work so well. I share my story because why would I hide the fact that I’m clean--everyone knew about it when I was an addict. We expect our families to do the same, to give back to the community by sharing their stories, to help our new arrivals. There is an energy that goes with what we do--it’s electric--it’s gratitude, love and excitement. We are indeed a community."

Jane Tschida has attended Joan of Arc off and on for about 35 years.  She and husband Paul are parishioners. Jane is a retired non-profit association director and has always been involved in public affairs. Her goal is to become more involved in social ministry at Joan of Arc, and writing for the web site is her first attempt.

But Mary has the last word. She reminds me that the need for funds is always crucial. She hands me a pamphlet which says, "You can help! Contributions are tax deductible. Thank you for your partnership."