For more than a decade, Kate O'Donnell has been a welcoming face to many Yukoners looking for warm clothes, a bite to eat or just someone to listen to them.

Whitehorse is losing that welcoming face today as the director of Maryhouse heads off to new challenges at the Roman Catholic Church's Madonna House Apostolate's main centre in Combermere, Ont.

O'Donnell has been reassigned to the Combermere house, though exactly what she'll be doing there is still up in the air.

And she's OK with that.

"It's an opportunity for me to learn to trust in God,” she said in an interview Wednesday as she explained being part of Madonna House – of which the local Maryhouse is a member – means taking vows of obedience, chastity and poverty.

Moving where she's assigned is part of that vow of obedience, she pointed out, noting that when she arrives in Combermere, she and officials will discuss her new role there.

Spiritual advisors work with Madonna House staff regularly. Where staff are assigned often depends on where the need is greatest, where the staffer is spiritually and other such factors.

While O'Donnell has been at Maryhouse most recently since 1999, her work through Madonna House has seen her assigned to a number of communities, including an earlier 10-month stint at Maryhouse back in 1979, 25 years after it opened in 1954.

And though there were some major changes to the community in the 20 years between her assignments in Whitehorse, she noted that in 1999, it was still a "great city to be in” with wonderful people.

"I was happy to be here,” she said.

Prior to her 1999 move to the territory, O'Donnell had been at the house in Combermere, which sits northeast of Toronto and west of Ottawa and hosts 125 staff and guests.

By the time O'Donnell had returned in 1999, Maryhouse had shut down its shelter program, which ran from 1954 to 1997. The local Catholic bishop had directed it to be closed in the face of mounting demands in the territory.

Maryhouse continued its work to meet the "spiritual and corporate works of mercy” – answering the door to those in need of clothing, food and a listening ear and, as the years passed, became more and more known for its emergency food program.

By 2008, much of its work had become focused on providing food bank type services.

"We were not meant to be a food bank,” O'Donnell said.

Before simply stopping the program, Maryhouse officials approached the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition with its dilemma. It wasn't long before the coalition set to work on getting the Whitehorse Food Bank up and running.

In 2009, the food bank opened its doors and Maryhouse began phasing out its emergency service, though it still offered sandwiches and smaller items to help those in need get by.

In fact, in recent weeks, O'Donnell said she had someone knock on the door looking for food.

They had been to the food bank earlier that month and wouldn't be eligible for another order from the bank until the following month.

Maryhouse got some goods together to help them through until they could go to the food bank again.

Much of Maryhouse's work is focused on providing those more immediate needs as people show up at the door. Many times, visitors are simply looking for someone to talk to, O'Donnell said.

”It's very much one-on-one,” she noted, adding Maryhouse is also involved in the local diocese work.

Carrying on that work for now will be the remaining Maryhouse staff. They include Maureen Davis, who will become the new director, Theresa Girard and priest Kieran Kilcommons. O'Donnell said Madonna House will likely assign another staffer to Whitehorse after her departure.

As she wraps up her final days in Whitehorse, O'Donnell says she "hasn't got a clue” what she's achieved in her time here, but hopes that she's been a witness of the love of God.