Since joining the Adrian Dominican Sisters in 1965, I have been extraordinarily curious about the different ways through which people cope, restore dignity and independence, and what it means to live a sustainable and satisfactory life.During time spent in the Dominican Republic, I was profoundly affected by the resiliency and creativity exhibited by disadvantaged women on the island. They survived and even thrived by developing communities of trust, love, and faith-sharing. My experiences here guided me towards work in Flint doing street ministry with the poor. After listening to the stories and the needs of the poor for years, we discovered that what they desired was not necessarily clothes, food, or shelter, but a means to provide those basic needs for themselves. They desired self-efficacy; to learn to fish as an alternative to accepting the fish we gave them. Those experiences in the DR and those that Sister Judy Blake and I shared on the streets directly contributed to the work of the Center which creates communities centered around love, understanding, sharing, and compassion. These nurturing environments perpetuate the emotional and skill competency of our clients and enable them to become self-sustaining.