"Faithful Fools St. Ministry," A Unitarian-Catholic Service Organization In San Francisco, California

"Nieves"

Faithful Fools Street Ministry

http://www.faithfulfools.org/

Alan: Thanks to lifelong friend, Nancy "Tig" Hardies, R.N., N.P., M.S. for introducing me to the good work of Faithful Fools.

   If you have visited the Faithful Fools @ 234 Hyde Street anytime in the past several years, chances are good you were greeted at the door by a smiling, round-faced guy who may have been cradling a tiny dog in his arms. That would have been Nieves Moreno, who is a solid and important presence in our work of welcome and accompaniment. The little dog’s name is Penelope.

   This year Nieves is 60. He has an extraordinary life story, which he was willing to share with the E-news.

   Nieves was born in Texas; his parents were migrant workers, and he remembers being bundled into the back of a truck with six other families to travel where the work was. Nieves worked in fields alongside his parents from the time he was 7; earlier than that, he would be called on to care for younger children while they worked. “From the time I was 7, I was always working,” Nieves said, and this turned out to be a theme in his very full life.

   He knew tragedy early. His father died in a car accident when he was 12; two years later his mother was diagnosed with cancer, and after she died, his sister was murdered. He drank to ease the pain. He became homeless when he was 14, living on the streets 20 years – going from state to state, drinking, sleeping under bridges. “I was young, stupid, invincible,” he said; all along he was still working every day, making money enough to buy alcohol and cigarettes.

   In 1989 he met the woman he wanted to marry, and “I put my beer down and decided to make a family.” She had four children and a history of addiction. Nieves helped her clean up and get the children back, and they had two kids of their own. “I didn’t drink when I had my kids, “ he said. “I never touched a drop.” But the marriage ended, the wife and children moved to Florida, and Nieves resumed drinking and drugs. He had a stroke, was in a coma for weeks, and soon after that – in about 2000 -- he met Carmen and started his connection with the Faithful Fools.

   Over time, he gave up alcohol and drugs. “Now I’m a fulltime volunteer at the Fools,” he said, and it’s true: Nieves is so busy accompanying people – taking them to the doctor, helping them find housing, giving them pep talks and listening to their stories – that the Fools and the Healing Well have had to find more volunteers to replace him minding the door! It seems he is everywhere all at once, helping one person here, driving another there.

   This month Nieves will travel to Florida to meet three grandchildren for the first time, and to give a word of encouragement to his daughter and his son. “My goal is to see that my kids succeed,” Nieves said. “As a father, that’s my job. I am going to tell my son my life story, and get him to turn his life around.”

   Meanwhile, Nieves has become a father-figure to some of the young-adult interns at the Faithful Fools. “Bianca, I guide her like she’s my daughter,” he said. “It’s the same with Nathan; I give him advice. I tell them, ‘If you don’t get an education, you’re going to have trouble the rest of your life.’ And they listen to me.”

   “I like to see people succeed,” Nieves said. His spirit and his heart are part of what inspires us to succeed. Best to you, Nieves, as you reunite with your family in Florida!