Homelessness Update
Over the past several weeks, our Pastor of Mission Mobilization, Tony Traback, has been hard at work helping our church, other local churches, and our community mobilize to address the impending reduction of emergency shelter beds for the homeless. Read on to find out more about what he has been up to.
In the past few weeks, I have been meeting with pastors and leaders in non-profits downtown at the ministry center. One of the primary accomplishments of these meetings is the possibility of creating a rotating downtown shelter for the winter. Specifically, we, the larger San Jose church community, are going to host a two-week “beta-test” shelter in downtown San Jose in late January!!!! This is a huge step!!! It would hold between 15-30 people. Moreover, Sacred Heart, EHC and Innvision are willing and able to train volunteers! I am working with Sacred Heart to even have a training before the “beta-version.” God is at work…
We are also beginning to create an eco-system map of homeless services and programs available in the downtown area. First, we need to gather information. Second, we need to create a web interface that allows church members and non-profits to easily and effectively sort these services based upon the homeless person they are trying to serve. This would allow a huge network of people to more easily be able to serve the homeless. It would also be the first ecosystem map of the downtown area which we could eventually expand to include other services from immigration to education. It is an enormous need that we have the skills to address.
Lastly, we are trying to create a small locker system at the ministry center for homeless people within our congregation. We are currently trying to find people to staff it—essentially just be good friends to our homeless friends.
Here are other ideas that we have been considering:
Church Shelter Winter Rotation
In many cities of the United States churches have started church shelter rotations. In Cupertino, for example, they have a system in which one church shelters homeless people for a month and then another church hosts the same group for another month. It lasts all year. In downtown, we do not have such a system. We would like to consider what it would take for us, as a larger church community, to create one for the winter months (from Nov-Mar) in the downtown area. It would require 5 churches that own their buildings to dedicate space in them for 30 days out of the year. It would require a considerable amount of volunteer help, training and permit/zoning exploration.
Church Locker Network
In conversations with the homeless, it is evident that they need a place to store their belongings. We would like to consider creating a church locker network where downtown churches host 5-10 lockers for homeless with whom they have relational connections. This would require an initial investment in lockers, volunteer help and contracts/policies to navigate the potential complications (i.e., the storing of illegal and smelly items.)
Church Landlord and Mentoring Network
Many churches in the downtown area have members that are landlords. It may be possible to network these landlords with homeless tenants. This would help people who want to change their situation find shelter. If this was combined with a mentoring program (budget, resume, job application training etc), it could be a robust way to address the needs of those who are willing to take serious steps to transform their lives. The main complication would be to create a winnowing system that filters out potentially destructive or uncommitted tenants.
Creating a Network of Friends
The goal would be to equip volunteers to be effective advocates and friends to the homeless. To do this effectively, we would need a training from the city to enable volunteers to work within the existing city system; and we would need a homeless/shelter eco-system map so that volunteers could connect the homeless to providers and be more helpful friends. Though this would not expand the existing shelter infrastructure, it would help homeless individuals make the most of the resources that already exist.