Who is George Hunt?

By Deacon Ricky Brightman

The George Hunt HELP Center is well known to the homeless population.  Our hospitality center has been at the same location, 121 Mathewson Street, for almost twenty years, offering coffee/juice, clean used clothing, personal toiletries, information and referral, understanding and safety.  Now, who was George Hunt?

George Hunt was the Episcopal Bishop of Rhode Island until 1995 and was supportive of efforts to help the homeless, especially with the idea of creating an inner city drop-in center.  Bishop Hunt was interested in government and the problem of ethical leadership at the local and state level.  He often could be found at the State House as a witness and advocate for justice for people living on the edges of society.  It is very fitting that the Center was named after him as he fully supported this mission.

That’s not the end of the story however.  Bishop Geralyn Wolf, the present Episcopal Bishop, has long had a strong interest in the homeless that stretches back to her days as a young curate in an inner city parish in Philadelphia.  In 2002, Bishop Wolf spent her sabbatical living on the streets and in shelters in Providence, New York, and Philadelphia and wrote about her experiences in a book, “Down and Out in Providence.”  She is a strong supporter of the Center and of Crossroads where she sits on their Governing Board.

And then there is Deacon Ida Johnson who journeyed, with Chaplain Lawrence Bradner, formerly of the staff at Eleanor Slater Hospital, to San Francisco where they learned about a street chaplaincy program that served the homeless. On returning to Providence they enthusiastically described the program that trained and empowered the homeless to serve and help each other as peer chaplains and leaders. The Homeless Ecumenical Leadership Program opened up the HELP Center in a storefront on Mathewson Street in 1994 and has welcomed and assisted many individuals right up until this day. After retiring and relocating to Arizona, Deacon Ida continued her support by working with the immigrant population near the Mexican Border.

That’s the real success story­–a trip to California, a vision developed, space found, workers trained, and a program supported by two Bishops, George Hunt and Geralyn Wolf, and Deacon Ida Johnson.