Stephen’s Place will honor Sister Virginia Longcope, MSC, with a dinner celebration Nov. 4 in the University Center on the campus of DeSales University. Sister Virginia served as the director of Stephen’s Place for 30 years until her retirement in early 2023.

A Missionary Sister of the Sacred Heart, Sister Virginia founded Stephen’s Place in 1993 with the mission to “provide a safe, structured environment for adult males with a history of substance abuse, offering them hope and healing, as they transition back into the community as productive citizens.”

In 1985, Sister Virginia Longcope left her fifth grade teaching position near Whitehall to complete a one-year prison chaplaincy program at a maximum-security prison in Columbia, S.C. Following the completion of her master’s degree in social work from the University of South Carolina, Sister Virginia was employed as a social worker in the South Carolina Department of Corrections at a work release center in Florence, S.C.

While there, she saw firsthand the difficulties and setbacks experienced by parolees attempting to rebuild their lives and re-enter their communities. Without the proper guidance and support services, many of them were incarcerated for new offenses, unable to break their cycle of addiction.

As Sister Virginia contemplated how to help these men transition into society, she found inspiration from one of the inmates at the work release center: a young man named Stephen. Sister Virginia helped Stephen find an apartment and assisted him in re-establishing himself as a productive member of his community. Grateful for her support, Stephen encouraged her to find a way to help others like him.

The founding of Stephen’s Place was driven by Sister Virginia’s mission to reach out to the disenfranchised members of society; specifically, adult males leaving prison who had a need for a safe, structured environment to deal with their substance abuse addiction, as well as their history of nonviolent criminal behavior, often related to their substance abuse.

Sister Virginia chose to name the house Stephen’s Place in honor of the young parolee who had planted the seed – and for all the “Stephens” who have dreams and a willingness to make them happen, but lack the necessary resources and community support systems to make them a reality.

Residents commit to a 90-day program that emphasizes the development of personal life skills and occupational skills, designed to foster the structure and accountability necessary for their successful transition to a substance-free lifestyle.

“Our success rate speaks for itself,” says Stephen’s Place Board Chairman Tim Munsch. “In 30 years, of the 340 men who have passed through our doors, 73 percent of them have rebuilt their lives, and re-entered their communities as productive citizens.”

Munsch acknowledges that some of the residents of Stephen’s Place exceed the 90-day program requirement.

“As Sister always pointed out,” Munsch says, “their addiction was much longer than 90 days – so it will take longer than that to regain their lives.’”

The gala will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. For more information about the event, contact Sherman Myers, Stephen’s Place program coordinator, at 610-861-7677, or Shermanmyers@gmail.com.

Stephen’s Place is a nonprofit, tax-deductible organization that relies on private donations and grants from individuals and foundations. If you are unable to attend, but would like to make a donation, please visitstephens-place.org.