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Honey Do lists
Ministry matches those needing work to those needing help
by Robert Delaney of The Michigan Catholic
Published June 6, 2008
Editor's note: This is the third story in an occasional series on the impact of the economic crisis and the Church's search for solutions.
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Robert Delaney | The Michigan Catholic
Dale Baril of Honey Do Ministries does landscaping work for Katherine Blake, a member of St. Michael Parish in Sterling Heights, where the ministry is based. | Sterling Heights — Dale Baril was just about to be evicted for a second time back in late January when he learned about Deacon Larry Healy and his plans for Honey Do Ministries at St. Michael Parish in Sterling Heights.
"I was going to go homeless. He set me up with a place to stay right away, and later found work for me to do," says Baril, 58.
With a number of St. Michael parishioners out of work, it occurred to Deacon Healy that perhaps they could earn some income by doing jobs for other parishioners.
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Robert Delaney | The Michigan Catholic
Baril | Although Baril is a plumber by trade, Michigan's current economic crisis has made it hard even for many who have such skills. "There are 450 journeymen licensed plumbers at the union hall waiting for jobs, last time I checked," he says.
Baril was a member of a four-man Honey Do crew that did landscaping work recently at the home of St. Michael parishioners Michael and Katherine Blake.
The result was "more and better than I had expected," Katherine Blake says.
Lots of people have some work they need done around the house that they either cannot or don't want to do themselves. Honey Do Ministries takes its name from the popular nickname for the lists of chores many wives make up for their husbands.
In the case of widows or older couples, there might not be anybody to do those tasks anymore.
"My husband and I are in our late 60s and both have health problems, and we are unable to do this amount of yard work anymore," Blake says of the work done by the Honey Do crew.
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Joe Kohn | The Michigan Catholic
Blake |
She says she considers the program a blessing for herself and her husband, as well as being a great way to help fellow parishioners who are out of work.
"We've seen on TV about how some people are taking advantage of seniors," Blake adds.
Helping out-of-work parishioners is nothing new at St. Michael, but the Honey Do Ministries approach seeks to address the changed circumstances brought on by Michigan's economic crisis.
"We've had an employment support group, on and off, for over 20 years, but now we've got people whose cars are being repossessed, who are being evicted, who have to put their furniture in storage," Deacon Healy says.
On the other hand, he continues, many parishioners are willing to pay to have someone come in and perform various tasks – not only senior citizens, but also people who are just too busy to tackle those tasks themselves, he says.
"We hired 11 people, and they've been doing miscellaneous jobs – cleaning up yards, repairing gutters, washing walls and painting jobs. I've got about 50 work orders in process," Deacon Healy says.
Other tasks have included, installing new faucets and toilets, landscaping work, repairing light fixtures and adding electrical outlets, and even replacing plugged sump pump drain pipes.
Deacon Healy plans to expand Honey Do Ministries to St. Blase Parish, also in Sterling Heights, in June, and to have it operating throughout the Central Macomb Vicariate by the end of this year.
Through an arrangement with Michigan Catholic Credit Union, there is financial counseling for Honey Do employees and a portion of each employee's earnings is placed into an account that can only be drawn on to pay necessary bills.
Deacon Healy says a key factor in getting Honey Do Ministries off to a good start has been that "seniors are very afraid of dealing with contractors"; some fear contractors will not deal honestly with them, and they may even be fearful that a contractor just wants to get inside their residence to steal from them.
For more information about Honey Do Ministries at St. Michael Parish, Sterling Heights, call (586) 718-8599.
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Series: impact of the economic crisis and the Church's search for solutions
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