St. Timothy’s Parish Sponsors Vietnamese Refugee Family in Touching Display of Community Resettlement-October 14, 1975

While much has been written about the complex challenges facing Vietnamese families settling in the United States after fleeing their homeland, the resettlement effort carries another profound dimension: the personal, moral, and emotional transformation experienced by the American volunteers who lend a hand.

For parishioners at St. Timothy’s Parish in Norwood, stepping up to sponsor a displaced family became a deeply unifying community endeavor.

“We found capabilities for helping others greater than we knew we had,” said Mrs. Mary Ann Phillips of Geraldine Drive. “Hopefully we can even help each other more now that we know each other. The project brought us all closer together in our parish. People we have known casually for years are now close friends.”

Mrs. Diana Coyle of Kathleen Lane echoed that sentiment: “Helping the Pham family has probably done more for me than it has for them. There is just a good feeling you get.”

A Community-Wide Effort to Unite a Family

The journey began in August when St. Timothy parishioners answered an appeal by Catholic Bishops to aid in refugee resettlement. They chose to sponsor Soan Van Pham, 48, his wife Ngo, and their seven children because Mrs. Pham’s brother, Anthony Vihn, and his family had already been privately sponsored and resettled in Norwood by Mr. and Mrs. Theodore A. Curtin of Winter Street.

“We felt we should try to keep the family together,” Mrs. Phillips explained. “The Vietnamese are very family oriented.”

From weekly planning meetings in August until the Phams arrived in Norwood on September 16 from Ft. Chaffee, Arkansas, parish enthusiasm surged, drawing in non-Catholic friends as well.

The greatest initial hurdle was securing housing large enough for a nine-member family. Co-pastors Rev. William F. Lucey and Rev. William F. Scanlon joined the search wholeheartedly. Father Scanlon recalled a stroke of fortune while walking through Dedham—where he resides—mulling over the housing shortage and deciding to ask a passing mailman for leads. That mailman directed him to a vacant property on Dwight Street in Dedham, just off Route 1.

The property owner, Joseph Motta—whose residential home stands uniquely amid the commercial bustle of Route 1—was in the midst of renovating the second floor for rental. When Father Scanlon mentioned the Vietnamese family, Mr. Motta’s face broke into a smile, revealing he had been considering a similar sponsorship.

Motta agreed to rent the four-room second floor to the Phams and generously offered the four rooms on the third floor at no extra cost if the family and volunteers were willing to finish the renovations themselves.

An Old-Fashioned “House Raising”

Parishioners and the Pham family—who temporarily stayed with Mrs. Pham’s brother after arriving two weeks before the quarters were ready—pitched in together. They scraped, plastered, painted, laid a new kitchen floor, hung curtains, rolled out rugs, and scoured for furnishings and financial donations.

“You remember the old fashioned barn raisings?” Father Scanlon asked. “This was like a house raising. The response was overwhelming.”

Support extended far beyond moving day:

• A parishioner who is a dentist offered pro bono dental care, with his wife providing transportation to medical and dental appointments.
• Other volunteers assisted with school registration forms and guided Mrs. Pham through supermarket shopping.

Building a New Life in New England

Soan Van Pham, a friendly and hardworking former U.S. Air Force plumber and carpenter in Vietnam, has been busy painting the exterior of the Dwight Street home. His wife, Ngo, who spent six years working in an American post exchange snack bar in Saigon, keeps a watchful, loving eye on her children. All seven children are enrolled in local schools, adapting rapidly to everyday English.

While the Phams are safe, housed, and looking healthier than when they arrived from Arkansas, parishioners harbor one amusing concern: how the family from Saigon will adjust to New England’s harsh winter, having never before witnessed snow or bone-chilling cold.

For now, Mrs. Pham is simply grateful. Looking around her eight-room home with a soft smile, she encapsulated her feelings: “House is beautiful.”

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger