Outreach Committee News

Organizing Meeting for Homelessness Initiative Set for December 5th

For many of us at First Presbyterian Church, the last year has been a period of discernment about homelessness in Kalamazoo, as we have learned about the issues and considered how our congregation might respond to them.

Now we are ready to move into action, and the Outreach Committee needs to ask for your participation and support.

There are two county-wide initiatives that we would like to participate in—the Affordable Housing Partnership and the homelessness work of the Michigan Organizing Project. Most immediately we want to help with the Affordable Housing Partnership’s “Point In Time” survey on January 24 that will estimate the number of homeless persons in the county. For the Michigan Organizing Project, we want to help to build community and political support for the voucher program that provides rent support so that homeless people can find homes.

Also for our congregation to address homelessness as a corporate initiative, we need to continue providing direct support through volunteering, such as in serving meals at Ministry With Community, and we need to continue to educate ourselves about the evolving issues.

We need your help. Please join on Wednesday, December 5, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. in Room 315, as we figure out how to move forward in these different areas.