Net of Compassion marks 10 years of growth, service
WORCESTER Pastor Richie Gonzalez couldn t help stepping outside himself and chuckling during a recent interview.
He spoke with a certain level of incredulity that in his role as founder and director of Net of Compassion, he had participated in an event with Worcester County Sheriff Lewis Evangelidis.
Gonzalez was quick to point out he served time in jail before Evangelidis tenure. And he was quicker to point out with a bit of a laugh that an attempted escape from said jail was also before the sheriff took over.
But there he was, years later, shaking hands with the sheriff, accepting a donation of jackets for the human services organization. Gonzalez said he never would have imagined 10 years ago he would go from prison and the throes of addiction to running a 24-hour homeless shelter and working closely with the city. But he also talked about how his life is part of a plan that was laid out in visions he said he
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Ten years ago, Richie Gonzalez and his wife, Elizabeth distributed 120 bagged meals for those in need on Main Street in Worcester.
“We thought it was going to be one day only,” Gonzalez said. “From there it’s been 10 years.”
It’s been more than bagged lunches too.
The couple operates Net of Compassion, which provides shelter, clothes and food to those who need assistance in Worcester. It all started with that day on Main Street but has grown into a multi-location operation include a shelter on Vernon Street.