Fizzy Business - Regis College

4
REGIS TODAY
Outlook: A Lot Rosier
(Since Mary Smalarz began providing health care to homeless women)
By KiM ASCH
The needs of the poor, homeless, hungry, and/or
mentally ill women seeking refuge at Rosie’s Place
don’t ebb and flow according to the academic calendar.
That’s why, on a glorious Friday morning in early
August, Associate Professor Mary Smalarz was busy
tending to guests at this sanctuary of services and
support in Boston.
For the past 17 years, Smalarz has coordinated
and supervised the Regis College Nursing outreach to
Rosie’s, which staffs a wellness center four days per
week from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., not just during the fall
and spring semesters but all through the year. During
summers, Smalarz volunteers 24 hours a week
with a smaller crew of nursing students who earn
credit for their work.
“Because we’re the only health care presence here,
we’re not going to be fair-weather friends,” Smalarz
said simply.
Smalarz was inspired to partner with Rosie’s Place
after Regis awarded its founder, Kip Tiernan, the
honorary doctor of humanities degree in 1993. When
Rosie’s Place opened its doors in 1974 it was the first
women’s shelter in the city, staffer Anna Barbara
Carter-Bruno said: “Kip Tiernan saw women dressing
as men standing in soup lines because there was
nothing for women. She said, ‘Oh, no. This can’t be.’”
Since then, Rosie’s Place has evolved from providing
meals and shelter to helping women from all
socioeconomic backgrounds permanently improve
their lives through advocacy, education, and affordable
housing. Each year, 4,000 nutritionally balanced
meals are served in the dining room, and each
month, 1,250 women choose 20 to 40 pounds of free
nonperishable food items and fresh produce from the
groceries program. Rosie’s Place advocates schedule
about 750 appointments each month with “guests,”
as they are called, providing assistance with clothing,
housing, educational and employment opportunities,
legal advice, transportation, and emergency
funds for eviction prevention and prescriptions. More
than 600 women find shelter in the emergency and
short-term housing.
During a conversation with Tiernan on campus,
Smalarz learned that health care was missing from
this extensive menu of services. She got the idea
that creating a wellness center at Rosie’s Place could
benefit needy women as well as her nursing students,
who are required to complete a community service
experience with the medically underserved.
“Mary was the
perfect match for
this organization.
She and her
nurses have made
a huge difference
in the lives of the
poor and needy
women who come
here,” said Carter-
Bruno, director
of health and
“I’ve always
had a soft
spot for the
underdog.”
nutritional services at Rosie’s Place. She was on staff
when Smalarz first opened the wellness center in a
makeshift space in a hallway alcove. “Her style of
interacting with our guests is unconditional acceptance.
She’ll do whatever she can for them, and that
dedication does not change with the passage of time.”
These days, the wellness center has its own space,
an office, and a conference room right next to the
dining room, “in the middle of the action,” Smalarz