BENSONHURST — “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” 

These words were coined by Mother Teresa, and, for the past decade, they have been put into action by St. Dominic’s Outreach. They are so strongly believed that they are written on the back of the program’s outreach van.

The team of devoted parishioners at St. Athanasius-St. Dominic Parish has been making their mark for 10 years, creating a community of support for the homeless population and those otherwise in need. 

As St. Dominic’s Outreach commemorates its 10th anniversary, its organizers look forward to continuing their work both inside the church’s doors and beyond.

It all started on Feb. 28, 2014, with a food distribution in Manhattan. Bensonhurst native Vincent Nerone was asked by Father Gaetano Sbordone, then-pastor at St. Frances Cabrini, to help out with midnight food runs. Together, he and a couple of fellow volunteers drove in a borrowed van to distribute food to those in need. 

Now, the outreach team has its own large black van, which allows them to take to the streets as often as possible. On Saturday, March 2, a few people drove to Manhattan to serve pancakes and eggs to the homeless for breakfast. 

That trip marked their 356th outreach trip, and only once has a trip ever turned confrontational. 

“As soon as I get out of the van, if there’s 50 people there, I could say hello to 46 of them by name. When you get out of the van and you know everyone’s name, it changes the whole dynamic,” Nerone said.

DeSales Media Group, the ministry that produces The Tablet, helped fund a rental van for over two years before St. Dominic’s could purchase its own van. When Pope Francis came to New York City in September 2015, DeSales rented 9 vans, visiting 29 locations so that 100 volunteers, including those from St. Dominic’s, could feed the homeless. In total, DeSales Media Group donated over $20,000 in vans to help. 

Shortly after it was founded, Msgr. David Cassato, the pastor of St. Athanasius-St. Dominic, offered basement space in St. Dominic’s to the outreach team. From there, they had access to an entirely new range of service opportunities. 

“We’re one paycheck away from being homeless,” said Pina Coccovizzo, a member of the St. Dominic’s Outreach since it began. She remembers the first time she rode in the van alongside Nerone — she was too scared to get out and distribute food to strangers in the middle of the night. With the window partially rolled down, she handed out toiletries from the passenger seat. 

However, the outreach does more than drive around in vans and drop clothes and food off to strangers in need. It is simultaneously creating an inviting place where people come to them through “Hope’s Kitchen.”

Every month for nearly five years, St. Dominic’s has transformed its gymnasium into a haven for the homeless community. On the third Wednesday of the month, around 60 people visit the church and are welcomed with home-cooked meals, hot showers, and a safe place to rest. 

For Nerone and the fellow volunteers, it is crucial that Hope’s Kitchen not be anything like a soup kitchen. The dinners include appetizers, entrees, and desserts, occasionally prepared by chefs hired from across the diocese. 

For every three homeless people, one volunteer is sitting at the table. Atop the tablecloth sits real dishware and cutlery. If it is someone’s birthday that month, they get cake. 

“It’s transformative. It’s such an incredible feeling. You get here and you think you are helping, but in reality, they are helping you,” said Maria Biesty, a volunteer. She began attending St. Dominic at the start of the pandemic, and soon became involved in parish programs, helping with the Boy Scout Troop and the outreach program. 

“Our doors are open for everyone. You just come here, and we are your family,” she added.

In addition, the outreach program holds Christmas parties, inviting the homeless from the community to attend Mass at the church and to enjoy a gathering of friends. Some 60 homeless people came to the party last year.

Biesty, Coccovizzo, and Liana Vella, a volunteer since its formation 10 years ago, stood in the basement of St. Dominic on March 4 with trash bags full of clothes. Together, they spent their Monday night following the meticulous rules Nerone set in place for organizing clothes for distribution. 

Hangers must all face the same way, and sizes are labeled on the left shoulder sleeve, written boldly with black marker on yellow masking tape. 

“I want to give what I would want [to wear],” Vella said.

Though she is a parishioner at St. Athanasius, Vella has been coming to St. Dominic’s to volunteer since the beginning. The clothes she sorted through on Monday were all clean and high quality — a must for the volunteers.

Prioritization of the dignity of the human person is crucial to the mission at the St. Dominic’s Outreach — and it all comes back to their faith. 

“You have to walk the walk. I can’t just talk and say I’m Christian, and then not do Christ’s work,” Coccovizzo said.