by Alecsandria Davis ’20

As a young woman, Michelle Franzose spent almost a year on the streets. Now, she leads the Least of These Ministry at Kingdom Life Church, sits on the board for ReStore Waterville, has organized a project with Waterville Creates!, and brings dozens of volunteers each Thanksgiving to minister to the homeless in Boston. Her experience inspired her heart for the homeless and influenced the way she developed her ministry. 

Least of These started five years ago with the Franzose family. They wanted to go to Boston, where their son went to college, to serve others as a family. Michelle used Facebook to collect donations, and then they headed to the city to minister to the homeless. This trip has remained a tradition as the ministry has grown: this year, over thirty volunteers distributed five hundred backpacks. Least of These is also becoming increasingly involved in Waterville and Oakland. 

Waterville’s homeless population is larger in the summer than the winter, so Least of These offers seasonal programs. In the summer, they find where groups of homeless people are gathering, and each week they bring food and create a space for fellowship and community. This has allowed them to build long-term relationships and become a resource that people can turn to when they need help. Volunteers hand out backpacks in Waterville as well, which Michelle is careful to fill with high-quality, useful items.

At the beginning, Michelle was frustrated with the donations she received: cheap gloves that wouldn’t last the winter, random collections of canned food, and used items that were already worn through. Michelle didn’t want to waste what people were giving, but she knew that these donations would not have a meaningful impact on someone who was homeless. Instead, she developed the “adopt a backpack” program. Each year, Michelle puts together a list of useful, quality items that will go into each backpack, and she finds the best price to buy them in bulk. She then totals this amount and runs donation campaigns to fill them. This allows her to involve people while also controlling what they are handing out and the message it sends to the people who receive the items. Michelle is adamant that Least of These will not be about checking your “good deed box” for the year: it’s about making a real difference. 

Through conversations with teachers, Michelle realized that students often don’t have enough socks or menstrual care supplies. Least of These now provides local schools with socks, pads, and tampons for students in need.

Michelle is also responsible for the mural in an alley by the downtown Concourse. Michelle and her husband, Ricky, were walking their dog when they realized how trashed the alley was, and in conversation with local police they found out that it is a place where lots of crimes happen. Michelle and Ricky were cleaning up the alley when Michelle had an idea: what if there was a huge mural to change the narrative of this space into one of local pride? It didn’t have to be a dingy ally; it could be a beautiful community spot. While they were cleaning, they were approached by a man who works for the city. Michelle mentioned her idea, and he connected them with the director of Parks and Rec, who connected her with Waterville Creates! Within a whirlwind of a few short weeks, Michelle walked into a board meeting to propose her idea and walked out with it fully funded. The Franzoses hope that by creating a sense of local pride, eventually all of Waterville will become a place of community and hope. 

The Franzose family and the wider Least of These community is heavily influenced by faith. The name “Least of These” refers to Matthew 25:40, where Jesus tells his followers that whatever they do for the needy in society, they do for Him. Least of These wants to reach people who feel “less than” and make them feel seen, heard, and loved. At the beginning, Michelle was guarded about allowing overt discussion of religion when they were interacting with people. She remembers what it felt like to engage with people who only wanted to help you if you listened and agreed with their beliefs first, and she did not want Least of These to bear any resemblance to that. As the organization grew, Michelle became more willing to pray for people or share her own story as a way to build relationships, but she still trains her team so that there is never an agenda to convert. 

As the organization continues to grow, Michelle wants to find ways to lock arms with the other organizations in the Waterville area. She wants to push for real, tangible solutions, not just Band-Aids, and she knows that these solutions will come from working together. She is working to bring on more administrative staff so that Least of These will have the organization and time to build these partnerships. Above all, Michelle loves the Waterville area, and she wants to make meaningful change not just for the homeless or those in poverty, but for the community as a whole.