Bulletin Board
The place where you can stay up to date with the latest events, stories, news, and opportunities for our City Relief community.
NYC Housing Resources To Help Someone In Need
In New York City, various rental solutions are available to those at risk for homelessness, and we’ve listed a few here as a resource for you.
Good news, Your company can partner with us!
Maybe you work at or own a socially-minded company? Today, we wanted to highlight how companies can partner with us to meet the needs of our friends on the street.
We Are A Family
Our community is full of individuals that have come together to help one another, woven into one diverse family.
We are making an impact!
We want to take this time to thank you for your continued support in advancing our mission here at City Relief. We know that in the busyness of life, setting aside time to serve and giving sacrificially is no small thing.
The Toll Of Mental Health
These days it seems like everyone is talking about mental health. The term ‘mental illness’ means that someone is having difficulty with their mental health.
The power of community
Over the years we’ve done our best to create an approachable community where people can feel welcome at all of our outreach events no matter who they are and what they are going through.
What is Housing First?
This week we want to unpack the Housing First approach, one of several effective and proven methods to reduce homelessness.
Should you give money to someone on the street?
This week we want to take some time to address a question that has been asked so many times: “Should I give money to someone on the street?”
How can we stop the criminalization of homelessness?
We are reaching out this week with some major updates about homelessness legislation. We were recently made aware that the Tennessee lawmakers passed a bill that would make it illegal for people experiencing homelessness to sleep on public property.
Letter from a Volunteer
Each week our eight outreaches are a space for our volunteers to draw close to God’s heart. To discover what the Gospel might mean outside of our usual comfortable lives. Tom D’Antonio volunteered with us towards the end of 2021 and took the time to write us this letter about his experience.
CBS: Newark Will Now Require Permit To Hand Out Food To People Experiencing Homelessness
An article about Newark, NJ decision to restrict who can hand out food to people experiencing homelessness, and how it impacts City Relief’s work in the city.
The New York Times: Feed the Hungry? You’ll Need a Permit for That.
Newark, New Jersey’s largest city, is working on an ordinance that would restrict the practice of feeding homeless people who live on the street. City Relief’s response to the change is covered.
A Walk in the Dust
“Walk in the Dust” is a day during which someone on our staff walks in the footsteps of many of our outreach guests. Most recently, our Follow-Up Care Coordinator, Nelson Maldonado, had the opportunity to Walk in the Dust and he shared his experience with us.
What’s the Difference Between Fixing and Healing?
This past July marked my first year with City Relief. And in the past year, I have pondered this question constantly. I came on staff when the world was seemingly on fire. At the onset of a global pandemic, I joined a collective of individuals compelled to run into the fray rather than away from it. And though I was once in awe of what they can do, I found myself more in awe with who they are. At the core of what brought each person to this team was not solely their merit, but their wounds and scars. These are what inspire them to work, even against the current of a cataclysmic reality. After all, I think we can all agree that this past year has been wounding. Especially for our friends on the street.
Longing for Something More.
This month’s Street Story comes from on of our Follow Up Care Coordinators, Zach Winterowd. July was actually Zach’s last month with us as he and his wife Shayna move onto the next phase of their lives back in Texas. His time with us was spent talking with guests to make individualized next steps, or a plan that they can realistically achieve, and then walk alongside them for as long as they need. It might look like helping someone get an ID card to helping a couple get married. (true story!) Zach talks about one need he has seen in almost every person he’s spoken with: the need for human connection.
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.