Padres power up downtown

Work begins on women’s clinic; $500G sought for completion

The friars at St. Anthony Shrine downtown put on their hardhats Monday and got to work on a new women’s clinic that will be used to help the city’s “most vulnerable” population.

The $1.3 million renovation includes a private waiting area, two wellness rooms, consolation room, storage and a handicap-accessible bathroom with a shower.

It will serve Boston’s “most vulnerable” population — women left on the streets to fend for themselves, said the Rev. Thomas Conway, executive director of St. Anthony Shrine.

“We look out for people who fall through the cracks,” he told the Herald.

The clinic, first opened in 2016 with a nurse practitioner provided by Boston Health Care for the Homeless, offers confidential help for women dealing with sex trafficking, HIV/AIDS, prostitution, sexual assault and substance abuse, along with mental-health issues.

Homeless women downtown have suffered during the coronavirus pandemic, Conway added, because foot traffic in the city has plummeted. People willing to share spare change are staying home.

“Women are more desperate because of the resources they’d usually have they don’t have now. Maybe that person who would give them a $20 bill are no longer around,” Conway added.

The renovation of the clinic is a partnership between the Shrine, Elkus Manfredi Architects and Suffolk Construction.

St. Anthony Shrine benefactors have donated $800,000 for the project to date, according to Development Director Maryanne Rooney-Hegan, who said the Shrine is trying to raise the remaining $500,000.

Anyone interested in making a gift can contact Rooney-Hegan at mrooneyhegan@stanthonyshrine or 617-542-6440.

As for the shrine, called an oasis of faith in Downtown Crossing, the food pantry is still going strong, but Mass and confessions are still not being held during the pandemic. Conway said they are still conducting counseling over the phone along with spiritual direction, homeless outreach and mailings.

“The clinic,” he added, “has been a giant success.”

The women are protected with the shrine keeping a focus on safety and getting them the help them need — “even if it means calling an Uber to get them treament,” Conway added.

MATT sTONE pHOTOs / HErALd sTAFF GOOD WORK: The Rev. Frank Sevola swings a sledgehammer and holds a jackhammer, below, to mark the start of a $1.3 million makeover of the women’s medical clinic at St. Anthony Shrine on Arch Street. He’s joined by fellow friars Tom Conway, Tony LoGalbo and Paul Bourque.