Executive Director, Part of the Solution

Sister Mary Alice entered the nunnery fresh out of high school and initially worked as a grammar school teacher. Then she met Desda, a homeless woman on the street who changed her life and gave her thorough insight into the lives of the homeless.

After running various organizations serving the homeless, Sister Mary Alice came to Part of the Solution (POTS) in 1996. She expanded upon its soup kitchen operations, creating a restaurant-style environment along with a place for clients to shower, get their hair cut and receive mail and voicemail. Legal, medical and mental-health services are available. Families and children account for a large proportion of those served; in fact, one in three people who visit soup kitchens in New York City are children.

One such child, Taina, first brought her younger siblings to POTS when she was eleven years old. Their mother was struggling with addiction and HIV. Taina thought POTS was a restaurant. Today, more than a decade later and with a family of her own, she is on staff, as kitchen manager.

Part of the Solution received its first Robin Hood grant in 1991. Robin Hood has helped POTS measure its effectiveness and is supporting the organization as it launches its capital campaign.

By day Sister Mary Alice directs POTS; by night she runs Desda’s Grate, a New Rochelle shelter for poor women and children. Sister Mary Alice says, "Desda taught me that in the end it’s not about a warm bed or a hot meal — it’s about human dignity. It’s about people knowing if they disappeared from this earth, someone would notice."