LOS ANGELES (RNS) — Sister Teresa Groth calls herself a “pardoned sinner” who seeks to be “an instrument of mercy in the hands of God” — words paraphrased from the constitution of the Daughters of Mary and Joseph, her congregation. As executive director of Francisco Homes, a Los Angeles housing program for formerly incarcerated men, she says that calling has guided her work. Since 2009, Groth has been welcoming men who served long sentences and easing their transition back into the world.
Groth came to religious life later than most. Widowed at 30 with a baby, she said she threw herself into her parish and, in her early 30s, had a religious experience she describes as God addressing her guilt directly: “Just rest in my love. Trust me.” After her son left for college, she entered the Daughters of Mary and Joseph and came to Francisco Homes in her second year of formation. “First, we recognize that we have received mercy. I have received mercy,” Groth, 70, said.
Founded in 2007 as an extension of a project of the office of restorative justice of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the Francisco Homes houses as many as 95 residents in 10 homes in Los Angeles. In addition to transitional and permanent housing, Francisco Homes also provides residents with reentry services, such as help signing up for food assistance and health insurance and obtaining a cellphone. The resident guides, or case managers, also help residents set personal and work goals, and there are in-house p …
