Bulletin Board
The place where you can stay up to date with the latest events, stories, news, and opportunities for our City Relief community.
As the World Should Be.
I was nervous about serving with City Relief. Ten years ago, I spent my first week with this organization and fell in love with the neighborhoods of New York City and New Jersey, the ministry, and with the friends we had made on the streets. Every year I would countdown the weeks before I could return... but this year was different.
Finding the Good.
This month’s Street Story comes from our Director of Outreach, Lauren Lee. Lauren just celebrated her 5 year anniversary of working with City Relief on our outreach team. Her story is about assumptions and misconceptions that we often bring with us, and how people are always more than they appear.
It’s the Little Things.
This month’s Street Story comes from our Director of Follow Up Care, Tricia Philbert. Tricia and her team stay in contact with our guests after our outreaches end. They walk alongside each person that that is looking to make positive changes in their lives. Tricia’s story is about Mary and her family who were evicted when they couldn’t pay for their apartment during the pandemic.
NYT: No Address, No ID, and Struggling to Get Their Stimulus Checks
Many people living in homeless shelters and on the street have not received the federal stimulus checks they’re entitled to, stymied by misinformation and bureaucracy.
The Upside Down Kingdom at 7-Eleven
God’s Kingdom is backwards from the way our world works. “The first will be last” or “That you must die to live” are ideas so contrary to the way we live that we often easily forget. This week Chief Executive Officer, Josiah Haken, got a reminder, at 7-Eleven.
The Rolling Prophet
I called him the “Rolling Prophet.”
Carlito was in a wheelchair when I met him. He was an older man, frail and sick, but all smiles. He had a gray beard and sparkly eyes. He looked a little like Santa Claus if Father Christmas was paralyzed and had to go five rounds with chemotherapy. Carlito usually rolled up to us on his electric chair while we were setting up our weekly outreach in Harlem. He couldn’t help us physically, but he would always greet us with an encouraging word or a blessing from scripture.
It’s a Miracle!
I don’t know about you, but my definition of a “miracle” is quite lofty and nearly unattainable. There are only a few times I have truly experienced anything that I would slap a “miracle” sticker on with such a distinguished definition.
InsideBLUE360: Weekly roundup (Quarantine Edition) Episode 13
The Homeless and COVID-19:
Weekly roundup hosts Jerry and Michele talk to NYC Relief President Juan Galloway who has been on the streets of New York City and Newark NJ serving the homeless population with all the new challenges the virus brings.
Vice: ‘Literally a Lifeline’ - Doctors Without Borders Is Getting Cell Phones to Homeless People so They Can Stay Connected During Coronavirus
An article about the importance of cell phones for people experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how City Relief stepped up to provide them.
Univision: Learn about the work of City Relief, an organization that seeks to change the lives of hundreds of homeless people
Abner Paulino, community leader, talks about the various initiatives that this non-profit organization has been developing for more than 30 years to support homeless people in the city and encourage them to work and rehabilitate. Paulino explains how the social programs they carry out are working in the midst of the coronavirus crisis.
WBAI: Coronavirus Diary
Juan Galloway, President and CEO of New York City Relief, a nonprofit serving the homeless, discusses the strain the pandemic has put on an already fragile social service system.
NBC 4 New York: Soup Kitchens in Crisis as Coronavirus Hits NYC’s Economy
The Bowery Mission and other New York City soup kitchens are facing a crisis because of the coronavirus. Melissa Russo reports.
Vice: Food Banks and Pantries Are Facing a ‘Tsunami’ of People in Need from the Coronavirus Crisis
Food banks, pantries, and hunger relief providers across the country say they’re seeing an unprecedented surge in demand for meals…as the coronavirus pandemic pushes more people into poverty.
Brut.: Coronavirus - Helping the homeless
“But what do you do if you can’t stay home? What do you do if you’re homeless?” Josiah Haken is helping New York City’s most vulnerable residents during the pandemic.
American Greatness: Greatness in America in the Time of Coronavirus
AM Greatness features City Relief’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Jason Jones Show (Podcast): It's Not Time Out But Time In
Jason Jones Show interview with Nicholas Di iorio from City Relief.
EWTN: World Over - Nicholas Di iorio with Raymond Arroyo
NICHOLAS Di iorio, Community Engagement Officer at City Relief on their work serving those who struggle with homelessness.
Christian Science Monitor: How to help people without putting them at risk
An article that discusses the COVID-19 pandemic and how to best respond to the needs of our unhoused neighbors while minimizing the risk for them, staff, and volunteers.
Helping Each Other Feel Less Alone
“Stop complaining. It can always be worse.”
"You’re not as bad off as the next guy.”
“Suck it up, you’re being too sensitive.”
These phrases take up space in our ear and lead us down a rugged, desolate road. Searching for respite from our solitude, we grasp onto them as truths, when they are simply a temporary band-aid.
A 24 Degree Drop in 24 Hours: What Winter Means for Homeless Neighbors
The weather changed. One day it was 50 degrees and the next it was 26. I’m no mathematician, but I believe that’s a 24 degree drop. 24 degrees in 24 hours. In my family, it meant jumping from sweatshirts to heavy jackets.