Information from Windsor Rd. Christian Church

Partnering Against Homelessness

Here are some ways to get involved with PAH as they address the needs of the homeless in our community.

*Bible studies or Sunday services are currently being conducted by volunteers at both the TIMES Center in Champaign and the Salvation Army, but interested folks are also needed to provide similar services at A Woman’s Place and the Center for Women in Transition.

*Many students help out during the school year, but now that summer is upon us, the Center for Women in Transition is in need of help to renovate, clean, and decorate their facilities, play with kids in their play groups, and provide meals and transportation.

*Every Thursday night from 6 to 8 pm, PAH makes a weekly “Canteen Run.”  Several volunteers use the Salvation Army Emergency Response Vehicle to visit the library, campus, the Illinois Terminal, and other locations to pray with and distribute food and other items to those with no place to go.  There are plenty of spaces for you to ride along and be part of this ministry, and they are also in need of donations of coats, blankets, socks, and pre-packaged food items for distribution.

To get involved with PAH in any of these ways, you can contact Barb Davies at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or (217) 417-7601.  For opportunities specifically at the Center for Women in Transition, contact Cathy Koerber at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Safe Haven

Safe Haven is a local homeless community currently being temporarily housed at Restoration Urban Ministries.  On June 1st, their time at RUM will end, and they will be seeking other non-shelter solutions for housing.  Let me know if you’re interested in hearing more about the following needs.
*Mentoring—A partner in the process of finding housing solutions, seeking employment, and developing life skills can be a valuable support to someone currently homeless.

*Housing locations—A small group of Safe Haven members is seeking property owners or managers who will offer living space in exchange for “sweat equity”—the completion of needed maintenance, renovation, or repairs.
http://www.safehavencu.org/

Don attended The Justice Institute at Twin City Bible Church in early2010. There was an enlightening talk about Homelessness and about local needs. If you are considering working with the homeless for the first time, it would really be worth listening to. It is available as an MP3 at the Ning site for THe Justice Institute. If you are interested in being linked to the Ning site email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
See the message below.

The Justice Institute took place in January and February of 2010.  It was a set of five sessions that spanned 6 weeks of Sunday evenings at Twin City Bible Church in Urbana, IL.  Every session was informative, eye opening to harsh realities in our local Champaign Urbana community.  One of the sessions covered the topic of Homelessness, and three local people who work in this area presented relevant information.  More importantly, they presented a Christ centered view of the problem and how to actively work on the problem.  Once again, the proposal for working on this social problem is one on one interaction or relationships with individuals who suffer from homelessness.  Similar to Christ’s approach, God can use one person to bring God’s love and hope to another individual in a difficult situation.

Just so you know, there were five sessions recorded (Biblical Foundation for Justice, Health Care, Domestic Violence, Homelessness, Inequality in Education).  If you would like to hear the session about Homelessness, please follow these three steps:

  1.  Send me an email [Don@KnownToMe.net] to request a membership invitation to the justiceinstitute.ning.com

  2.  Sign up as a member from the email invitation you receive.

  3.  Use the following link to get to the Homelessness Session recording link:
    http://justiceinstitute.ning.com/profiles/blogs/recording-of-february-21-2010

I will be happy to help you gain access if you are having trouble.  Please email or call me anytime.
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
217-390-6798