Florida Catholic | She’s Back On Her Feet With Help From Pantry

She’s back on her feet with help from pantry

LINDA REEVES | FLORIDA CATHOLIC PALM BEACH BUREAU EDITOR

Published: 07.16.08

I was homeless for months. A normal person making a living cannot afford to live in Delray anymore. You learn how to survive.”
—Gina Reinecke

DELRAY BEACH | Gina Reinecke, a waitress, could not pay the rent because her roommate, who generally pays half, walked out two days before it was due.

Her landlord, who had recently doubled the rent – as many property owners experiencing the troubled housing market and economy crunch have done – was not willing to give her an extension. Eviction led to homelessness.

“I was homeless for months,” Reinecke told the Florida Catholic. “A normal person making a living cannot afford to live in Delray anymore. You learn how to survive.”

After months on the streets, Reinecke, who attends Mass at Holy Spirit in Lantana, is back on her feet. She lives in a low-rent apartment in Lake Worth and is interviewing for new jobs.

The day before one of these interviews, Reinecke spoke to the Florida Catholic at the Caring Kitchen, a nonprofit that serves the working poor, homeless and low-income members of the community.

“I help here whenever I can because that is what you do: give back. It is really difficult,” she said. “I learned that when you are out on the streets, the good people take care of each other. You know who the good people are.”

In a typical day these days, Adrian Dominican Sister Mary Ann Caulfield, program and volunteer assistant of the Caring Kitchen, hears the troubles of many evicted, homeless, working poor and hungry.

“The numbers are up,” said Sister Caulfield. “On a regular basis, we feed more than 200 for lunch. Those numbers have been going up.”

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