PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Sister Ann Provost is a pillar of her North Philadelphia community. And as the executive director of Mercy Neighborhood Ministries, some might say she is like an angel in human form.
“I think for me, the hope that I would have is that, as people learn and witness and experience, … when you do for others, you are really the recipient of a deeper gift,” she said.
Through Mercy, she has led a range of community services, including child care and pre-K programs, caring for vulnerable elders, and ultimately meeting the needs of more than 200 people everyday.
“And that's, to me, what Mercy is about,” she said. “Reaching out with whatever gift you have to help another.”
In 2005, Provost says, she had the vision to turn an old warehouse in the city’s Tioga neighborhood into a thriving community center. But it was through the help of the community that her vision was realized.
“We partner with our neighbors every step of the way. They were part of the committee to design the building. They were part of the committee to really look at everything to advise us. We had a parent and neighborhood advisory group, and they really have guided us,” Provost said.
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“I have lived here in this neighborhood since 1986, and three of us presently live in part of our second floor. So we are available 24/7 to our neighbors, as well as any other needs that would come up.”
Provost, who just turned 75 this month, has decided it is time to retire from the organization she helped create about 30 years ago — if retire is even the right word.
“We don't really ever actually retire. So I will be doing something,” she said. “I just haven't found what it's going to be just yet.”
She says she will miss her daily interactions with the people of her community – meeting with the children every morning when they come in, greeting the adults when they stop in to say hello — “even with those with Alzheimer's,” she said. “Some of them are people that I have known for a very long time. And now, they don't really know who I am right now. But that's alright. There's a history — there's something.”
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And though her absence will leave a gap for many of those who know her, Provost leaves a legacy of responsiveness — seeing to the needs of the community with compassion and kindness — which will persist for years to come.
“It’s a gift. I pray a lot. I work with wonderful people. And to me, a big part of it is believing you're in this together,” she said. “It doesn't matter what role you have. You learn from everybody, and you give to everybody who you are. And that creates a flow of energy, a flow of grace, a flow of life. And when someone has some troubles, you're there to help.”