Food for the Homeless
The Need
Hunger and homelessness are stark realities in Franklin County. During a census in 2009, more than 12,000 Ohioans were found to be homeless. Of these, 1,380 were in Franklin County, a number that increased by nearly 4% over 2008. Due to the harsh winter climate an estimated 86% are cared for in shelters while 14% live on the streets or in homeless camps.
I was hungry and you gave me food. Matthew 25:35
The Response
The Newman Center has five ministries providing food and fellowship to more 500 than homeless men, women and children each month. Four of the ministries are linked to shelters—at Faith Mission, the YWCA Family Center, the Friends of the Homeless Men’s Shelter and Open Shelter. The student led St. Joseph Benedict Labre ministry meets those who are living on the streets and in homeless camps.
Watch the Food for the Homeless video
The Groups
Faith Mission
Faith Mission began serving the homeless in 1966 and today is the largest shelter agency in Columbus, providing separate Men’s and Women’s Shelters, the Community Kitchen, Case Management and Chaplaincy Services, and a Clinic and Business Resource center. It provides 24 hour emergency shelter to an average of 262 individuals daily and serves three full course meals, 365 days a year.
Faith Mission relies heavily on volunteers, monetary and in-kind donations to provide these services. The Newman Center has responded to the need by cooking and serving a dinner for the men at the Community Kitchen on the second Monday of each month for the past 20 years. Through careful use of our resources and donations from our community, we are able to provide a hearty tuna noodle casserole, warm bread, fruit and homemade cookies at a cost of $1.75 per person.
To volunteer, choose a date below to sign-up online, or e-mail faithmission@buckeyecatholic.com or on the bulletin board in the north lobby.
YWCA Family Center
In Franklin County, homeless families are often sheltered at the YWCA Family Center. Of the 650 families the Center served last year, 70% were able to find more permanent housing within three weeks. Recognized by the National Community Development Association as a national model for emergency shelters, the Family Center is one of only four centers in the U.S. to offer such a high quality of support to families experiencing housing crises.
Newman Center volunteers support the YWCA Family Center by cooking and serving a hot meal one evening a month. The home baked cookies being provided by our community are a special treat enjoyed by the families we serve each month. To volunteer, please choose a date below and sign-up to cook or serve or both - make sure you sign-up for cooking and serving if you'd like to do both! You can also sign-up by sending an e-mail to ywca@buckeyecatholic.com or on the bulletin board in the north lobby.
Watch the YWCA Family Center video
Manna in the Morning
Two Monday evenings a month, community volunteers meet in the Newman Center kitchen to assemble sack lunches for men living at the Friends of the Homeless Men’s Emergency Shelter. The lunches are intended for men who are going to work and are in need of a meal to go. The primary mission of Friends of the Homeless is to quickly find transitional or permanent housing, and to offer job placement and other supportive services. The shelter houses 130 men who can stay for up to 90 days.
In addition to the Manna lunches assembled by Newman Center volunteers, lunches also arrive here from partnering schools and churches including St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, St. Brendan School in Hilliard and St. Matthew School in Gahanna. The Newman Center has been coordinating this Food For the Homeless ministry for nearly 20 years, transporting thousands of lunches to men at Friends of the Homeless.
To volunteer on any of the following dates, please e-mail: manna@buckeyecatholic.com
- Aug. 9 and 23
- Sept. 13 and 27
- Oct. 11 and 25
Since 1983, Open Shelter has been providing vital services to those who find themselves homeless. More than 93,000 hot meals are served annually by Open Shelter and their community partners. Other essential services provided are clothing, hygiene items, financial services, housing options and advocacy.
The Newman Center joined forces with Open Shelter more than 20 years ago, continually providing a hot, nutritious meal once a month at Broad Street United Methodist Church, the Open Shelter’s Day Services Shelter. For about $1.75 per person, the Newman Center prepares and serves more than 100 hot meals on the third Thursday of each month. The meal preparation begins at 3 pm in The Newman Center kitchen. The meal is then taken to the downtown church where it is served at 6pm. No cooking skills are necessary, only the desire to share in a rewarding experience serving others.
To volunteer, please sign-up by choosing the date you'd like to volunteer (below) or please e-mail openshelter@buckeyecatholic.com.
St. Benedict Joseph Labre Ministry
In January, 2009 Newman Center student leaders began a ministry to serve homeless on the streets of Columbus. The ministry, named after St. Benedict Joseph Labre, the patron saint of the homeless, is patterned after a ministry at St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland.
"Labre", for short, is different from any other Food for the Homeless program at the Newman Center, in that service is not done at a shelter or through an agency. Labre volunteers go directly to homeless camps each Sunday night, bringing food, clothing, hygiene kits, and other basic needs. As Labre volunteers supply needed items, they work at building relationships. Each person is treated with dignity, as a human being and as a child of God. Many homeless struggle with addiction to drugs or alcohol, or with the effects of mental illness yet Labre volunteers have always been welcomed by those they are visiting. No negative incidents have occurred during these visits.
Those serving in Labre do not go to the camp alone, but as a group. The goal is to build friendships with the same homeless people every week. Bonds are strengthened by a journal that is kept about each visit. Labre volunteers reflect on these entries and pray for those they have visited. The hope is to spiritually empower each person encountered in the homeless camps, so that those served can get back on their feet and off the streets.
Labre takes place from 6:15-9:45 p.m. on Sunday nights. At 6:15 pm, those serving gather to prepare a meal in the Newman Center kitchen. The group prays in chapel at 7:00 p.m., then goes out to the streets to serve from about 7:15-9:30 p.m. The group returns to the Newman Center to pray and reflect, ending by about 9:45 p.m. All are welcome to participate by signing up in advance. Those under 18 need to have parental permission, and if under 14, must be accompanied by their parent.
To volunteer, please e-mail labre@buckeyecatholic.com
