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HISTORY Special Feature: 20th Anniversary of PRISM's Incorporation In a word, Marty Gates is "inspiring." In the hour or so we sat in my office for this interview, I felt so empowered to make a real difference I could hardly sit still. I didn't want her to leave. Ever. PRISM's story began in 1970 when Gates was hired as the Social Ministry Coordinator (SMC) at St. Joseph's Parish Community in New Hope. It was just after the White House Conference on Hunger. There were no social service agencies to speak of. But the need was there. Gates believes that the best way to express the Gospel is to put it in action--to reach out to others in need and truly live your faith. In her position as SMC, Gates helped start a food shelf in St. Joseph's garage, but from the very beginning, filling stomachs was never the ultimate goal. She says, when someone comes to you needing food, you can either give them the food and they can walk out the door, or you can sit down and listen to them talk about their life. The Social Action Center, as it was then called, chose to sit and talk. And Gates observed, "[If you took] time to just talk with them, you found out it wasn't just food they needed." The volunteers at the SAC were assigned as mentors to families, working with them on an ongoing basis until they were back on their feet. Even before PRISM was PRISM, the organization walked alongside families, offering support-based programs that encouraged self-sufficiency, PRISM's mission to this day. In the beginning, it was primarily Gates as the SMC coordinating all of the volunteers. And there were volunteers! Two thousand of them, coming "out of the woodwork," many of whom hadn't any idea they had such special gifts to share. By 1972, the SAC had "gelled" into a solid organization that began to extend beyond the boundaries of St. Joseph's Parish Community. There was "marvelous participation," Gates says, from area churches, the Jewish Community Center and beyond. The SAC welcomed everyone, and everyone came forward. On May 1st, 1983, PRISM was legally incorporated as a private, non-profit 501(c)3 entity with four paid staff members and a governing board of 12 member churches. They relocated to Holy Nativity Lutheran Church, then at 36th and Winnetka in New Hope. Gates moved on in 1983 to work with a regional food bank, setting up food shelves in communities all over the upper Midwest and beyond. But with the groundwork she helped to lay, PRISM has continued to grow, offering more programs to more people in more communities of Hennepin County. I asked if she'd had any idea what PRISM would become. Gates replied, "None! You take it where it leads you. The programs were built from the needs of the people who came to us." At the beginning, she says, the Metropolitan Council of Churches pulled people together to look at local poverty issues. They approached it in a "Here's the problem--how do we solve it" manner. PRISM continues to take this same approach: listening to clients, volunteers, community members, and churches to find out where the needs are, then building programs to meet those needs and strengthen the community. Gates says, "The role of the faith community is to be that group that sticks their necks out and speaks up for people. Then you can say that your actions reflect the message you carry." Thirty-one years later, PRISM continues to stick its neck out for people in need. Gates, too, is still active in issues of social justice, exploring the real needs of community members and working to find solutions to meet those needs. Most recently, she has been advocating for the rights of senior citizens to have access to affordable prescription medications. PRISM is indebted to the work of Marty Gates and to all of our donors and volunteers for joining us on the journey toward building stable families and a strong, caring community. |
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About PRISM
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