Whether you are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or straight, Mollie Pier will be your bubbie. She is the cofounder of Project Chicken Soup, a nonprofit volunteer organization that delivers kosher meals twice per month to residents of Los Angeles County living with HIV/AIDS. Even at 91, Pier is a fierce advocate for the LGBT community; although now confined to a wheelchair, she completed her third AIDS Walk Los Angeles this October. “I can’t even begin to tell you how many people I’ve helped be who they are,” she said in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times. Her determination to protect and support LGBT individuals started with her son Nathaniel, one of the first private physicians in New York City to treat patients with HIV/AIDS in the 1980’s. When Nathaniel came out to her, Pier was sympathetic to his concern that she might reject him. “He was fearful,” she explained. “When he finally did come out, I wrote him a letter and told him, ‘You’re my son, and I love you, and whatever life you’re happy in, I will be happy, too.’”
Pier started by reading all the literature she could find about the LGBT community, which – in the 1980’s – was limited. At Nathaniel’s urging, she also began to see a psychologist. She joined Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) as well as another organization for Jewish parents of LGBT children. “Once I came out, I came out to everybody,” Pier quipped. “I made no bones about it: My son is gay.” When Nathaniel passed away from complications with AIDS in 1989, she wanted to do something that would perpetuate his commitment to helping people living with HIV/AIDS. Taking a small group of volunteers who had been cooking meals in the kitchen of a local synagogue, Pier founded Project Chicken Soup. “We decided these people can’t work. They’re sick; they need food,” she said. “They need more than counseling.”
Now several dozen people gather two Sundays per month to cook kosher meals for over 125. Last year the volunteers logged 10,000 hours to make over 15,000 meals free-of-charge. Their delivery includes three entrees and two quarts of soup – one of which is always chicken – along with salads, side dishes, and dessert. Many of the dessert recipes come from Pier. “I feel I have a spiritual connection with [Nathaniel] because he did everything he knew how with his medical knowledge, and I’m doing it with my cooking knowledge,” she said. Since they work one-on-one with clients, Project Chicken Soup is able to tailor the delivery to specific dietary needs – or to throw in a few extra chocolate chip cookies. Pier always calls each individual a few days before the delivery to make sure they will be home, but more importantly to check in on their physical and spiritual wellbeing. “Sometimes, they’re lonely, sometimes they’re upset or not feeling well and just need an ear,” she explained. “I’m kind of the resident Jewish grandmother.”
A couple days before her son passed away, his partner Michael Hannaway exchanged rings with Nathaniel at the hospital. “I thought, there isn’t any rabbi, priest, pope, anybody who can tell me this kind of love is sinful,” Pier said. In addition to her work with Project Chicken Soup, she has come out as a strong advocate for LGBT civil rights – including marriage equality. “There are some people who never come out of it and go into mourning,” Pier explained. “I’m not that kind of person. I thought, ‘I’m going to make Nathaniel’s short life have meaning.’”
Steven Philp is a graduate student at the University of Chicago, studying for a Master of Divinity in Jewish Studies and a Master of Social Work. When not in the classroom he works for spiritual life, promoting dialogue and cooperation between different student-run faith-based organizations. Steven also volunteers with Mishkan, a progressive, spirited Jewish community in Chicago. His column, Klal Yisrael, appears here on alternating Sundays.
