Not even the light drizzle could dampen the spirits of “Sharon” and her five children as they waited for St. Francis Inn to open for dinner. The single mother brings them to the Franciscan soup kitchen in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood three to four times a week for a warm, nourishing meal.

Jennifer Byrne and Erik Otten were traveling on parallel paths – their lives spiraling into an abyss of homelessness, poverty and addiction. St. Anthony Foundation not only saved them, but it also transformed their lives, as it has for thousands of others since its doors opened in 1950