Philippines: Carmelite Missionaries Help 60 Homeless People Access Jobs, Health Care in Quezon City

Every Monday, about 60 homeless people gather at the Carmelite Missionaries Pastoral Center in Tatalon, Quezon City, in the Philippine capital region of Metro Manila, for a meal, formation sessions and assistance in finding work and accessing basic services.

The Carmelite Missionaries provide food and lessons on human dignity and spirituality while helping beneficiaries seek employment, obtain government identification and access medical and dental care.

“They ask for opportunities to get a regular or irregular job,” said Sr. Milaluna Moralde Arranchado, superior of the pastoral center and director of the Carmelite Missionaries Philanthropic Development Office.

The people who come to the center have different backgrounds and reasons for becoming homeless. Some sleep under bridges or outside commercial establishments after closing time. Others have moved from provincial communities to Manila in search of income.

“Some have come to Manila because they believe it is easier to earn money in the city than in the provinces,” Sr. Arranchado said. “Others sell rice cakes, cigarettes or other goods on the streets.”

She said the sisters have noticed an increase in the number of homeless people in recent years.

The missionaries help beneficiaries overcome barriers to employment, including the lack of identification documents or a permanent address. With a recommendation from the sisters, some have been allowed to use the pastoral center’s address when applying for identification.

The congregation also connects people with work opportunities. In one recent case, an architect hired six homeless people to clean houses and a garage, providing them with food, clothing and wages.

The sisters also offer livelihood and skills training, including sewing for mothers. Their assistance extends to people facing medical needs: free dental consultations and tooth extractions are available every Wednesday, while a doctor from St. Luke’s Medical Center usually volunteers on Mondays.

Sr. Arranchado said beneficiaries frequently approach the center for medicine, clothing and food.

The missionaries’ work also reaches communities relocated by the government to housing in Pandi, Bulacan, north of Metro Manila. Sr. Rebecca Polinar, one of the missionaries, said some families returned to the capital because the relocation areas initially lacked basic services and employment opportunities.

“They came back to Metro Manila because life there was difficult. There was no water, no electricity and no work,” Sr. Polinar said.

Some families found that others had occupied the homes they left behind. Others sold their government-provided houses because they lacked money for food, leaving them homeless again.

The sisters returned to the relocation communities to provide food and encourage residents to pursue livelihoods, including selling goods and cultivating available land.

Through the weekly program and outreach beyond Quezon City, the Carmelite Missionaries seek to address both the immediate needs of homeless people and the obstacles that prevent them from finding work, accessing services and establishing more stable lives.