1997 Dorothy Day Award |
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| Last month, St. Andrew's Church in the outer University area
awarded their annual Dorothy Day Award to the Friends of Dorothy. Friends of Dorothy, a hospice for people with AIDS, is simply the home of Michael DeSalvo and Nick Orth, a couple on Syracuse's Northeast side. For four years now, DeSalvo and Orth have opened their home, providing one guest at a time with 24-hour care, and the opportunity to live their final days in a loving, nurturing environment. Friends of Dorothy has an informal relationship with Hospice of CNY, whereby Hospice
provides medical care, equipment., counseling and nurse visits. DeSalvo and Orth
are viewed by Hospice as the primary care givers of their guests, and provide the majority
of the hands-on care. While one room of their home is set aside for their guest, a second is reserved for the guest's family and friends or occasionally as transitional housing for a person living with AIDS. Friends of Dorothy is not an agency, nor is it affiliated with any organization. The effort is supported partially by DeSalvo's hairstyling business and the generosity of family and friends. Orth also caters various community events, including Friends of Dorothy's monthly fund-raising dinner, which is as much about building community and awareness as raising money. All of their hospice services are provided free of charge. They do not take volunteers, but they do invite those interested to come over for Sunday dinner and get to know people who might someday need their help. |
 DeSalvo and Orth also serve one dinner a month at the Oxford Inn, a shelter for homeless men, where they prepare the meal, serve it, and spend time visiting with residents. DeSalvo has volunteered with Jail Ministry for more then 10 years, and both he and Orth actively work for peace and justice on many levels. DeSalvo and Orth are inspired by their religious faith. They act in the tradition of the catholic worker movement, which was co-founded by Dorothy Day. The house and the St. Andrew's award are named after Day. Day founded a soup kitchen in New York City which is considered a paragon of compassionate help giving. Day worked among the poor, founding the kitchen in the 1930's for those struggling to survive the Depression. Day felt that no matter how desperate people were, they needed to be treated as people first and as "needy" second. Each year, St. Andrew's recognizes a person or persons who most closely follow Day's example. DeSalvo and Orth also received the 1994 National Caregivers Recognition Award given by the Family AIDS Network a not-for-profit advocacy group for family members of people with AIDS. For DeSalvo and Orth, it's a matter of taking seriously the words of the gospel,
"when I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in prison, you visited
me," and living those words fully and joyously every day. |
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