steven
April 22nd, 2007, 09:05 PM
NIAGARA FALLS — A white minivan pulled up in front of a brick house on Ninth Street. The front lawn was damp and muddy from rain and bore the weight of two abandoned grocery carts that flanked the staircase. Joanne Lorenzo — petite with rosy cheeks and dark hair — got out of her van, carrying boxes of clothing and bags of toiletries.
“I hope they’re here,” she said as she approached the front door.
She climbed a long staircase to a second-floor apartment, home of two friends, Beth VanNess and June Pollock.
Pollock, 46, is a prostitute; Van- Ness, 47, a former prostitute.
Lorenzo hopes to soon open a coffeehouse for prostitutes and others in need. Meanwhile, on many nights, she tours the underbelly of Niagara Falls and Buffalo, searching out prostitutes and giving them sandwiches, clothing and bags of toiletries.
It’s all in an attempt to help change their lives.
“Everybody on the street is so nice,” Lorenzo said. “They say, ‘Can you pray for me?’ It’s amazing. So it’s really not scary at all. God is with us, so whatever.”
VanNess remembers “walking” one night when Lorenzo drove by.
“What are you doing out there? You know you can get hurt,” Lorenzo
yelled to her.
VanNess said she stopped street walking afterward and now helps Lorenzo with her mission.
http://www.buffalonews.com/107/story/59542.html
“I hope they’re here,” she said as she approached the front door.
She climbed a long staircase to a second-floor apartment, home of two friends, Beth VanNess and June Pollock.
Pollock, 46, is a prostitute; Van- Ness, 47, a former prostitute.
Lorenzo hopes to soon open a coffeehouse for prostitutes and others in need. Meanwhile, on many nights, she tours the underbelly of Niagara Falls and Buffalo, searching out prostitutes and giving them sandwiches, clothing and bags of toiletries.
It’s all in an attempt to help change their lives.
“Everybody on the street is so nice,” Lorenzo said. “They say, ‘Can you pray for me?’ It’s amazing. So it’s really not scary at all. God is with us, so whatever.”
VanNess remembers “walking” one night when Lorenzo drove by.
“What are you doing out there? You know you can get hurt,” Lorenzo
yelled to her.
VanNess said she stopped street walking afterward and now helps Lorenzo with her mission.
http://www.buffalonews.com/107/story/59542.html