Deacon Michael J. Oles

Deacon Michael Oles, Founder and President of Off The Streets, Inc., volunteered at a homeless shelter in Danbury, CT for more than 25 years before realizing that many homeless persons simply need a one-time helping hand to secure permanent housing. He founded Off The Streets in 2009 to provide a security deposit and basic living needs to those who are homeless but able to pay rent.  Off The Streets has grown to nine chapters across the country from CT to PA, CA, WA, and OH, helping approximately 7,000 people -- most of whom are women and children -- into their own homes. Armed simply by the power of the Holy Spirit, Deacon Mike, and many volunteers have tackled the intractable problem of homelessness one person at a time with no paid staff and very little overhead. OTS works with homeless services agencies to place individuals, becoming an essential piece of the puzzle of solving the scourge of homelessness. Deacon Mike was ordained in CT in 2002 and is currently assigned to Saint John Neumann Parish in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he lives with his wife of 57 years, Kathleen. He is an adjunct professor of Physics at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology with more than 50 years of professional experience as a teacher, and an officer in the US Air Force and the aerospace industry. His first book, "Help The Homeless Off The Streets One Person At A Time," described the simplicity of starting a chapter of Off The Streets in communities and parishes throughout the USA. In his second book, "Finally Home, The Prophetic Witness of Off The Streets," Deacon Mike reveals with greater clarity, the almost invisible, ethereal dimension to this ministry, and how OTS provides much more than just a security deposit and furniture, but a chance for a better future lived with dignity and renewed hope for all those we serve in the peripheries.