Sister Mary Alice Hannan entered the order of the Dominican Sisters of Hope right out of high school (going strong in her 58th year), initially working as a grammar school teacher. She went on to teach for twenty-five years, but her main source of joy was not in the classroom. While teaching, she also began volunteering at Covenant House, a Manhattan shelter for homeless runaways under twenty-one years old. It was through her volunteering that she met Desda, a homeless woman on the street who changed her life and gave her thorough insight into the lives of the homeless.
Sister Mary Alice had discovered Desda living among what she believed was a pile of garbage bags. Sister soon learned that Desda lived on this particular subway grate which vented warm air onto the cold New York City street corner. Seeing her poor living conditions, Sister tried to bring Desda into a shelter, but Desda refused. She spoke only to give directions regarding life decisions or to answer a direct question.“‘Do for others,’ she would say to me,” as Sister Mary Alice remembers. One night Desda disappeared, but her spirit has lived on. Sister Mary Alice promised God that one day she would found a home to save others from Desda's plight.
In 2000, while concurrently serving as Executive Director of POTS, a non-profit organization in the Bronx which serves the basic needs of the low income community, Sister Mary Alice founded the non-profit organization Desda's Grate. Desda’s Grate serves the needs of homeless single women and women with children in New Rochelle (Sister Mary Alice’s home town). The shelter aims to help the mothers gain a sense of independence, and actively create and achieve their goals. It is a place that allows single mothers peace of mind knowing their children are safe while they pursue their education and job search.