Social Ministry at College Church
Direct Service
Direct service to the poor, by itself, will not heal society's social ills; changes of heart and structural changes are necessary and so there is a need for formation and advocacy. But we can't ignore direct service.
“Imagine the parable of the Good Samaritan: ‘Along came an economist, but he, having read Hayek, knew that to help the man in the ditch was only a short-term solution that would encourage a culture of dependency, so he passed by on the other side.’”
N.T. Wright responding to Richard Neuhaus in First Things, June/July 2008
Outreach Program
The Outreach Program is the largest of our direct service activities. The Program, located in the lower level of the Parish Center at 3628 Lindell, is open on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 am and operated by 33 parish volunteers; we provide direct services and assistance for those who are homeless, of low income or in transition, and ex-offenders. People are referred by over 100 different agencies in St. Louis. The five leading referring agencies, in order of referrals, are the Saint Louis Community Release Center, Saint Patrick Center, Division of Family Services, Queen of Peace Center, and Harbor Light Center. Many of our clients come from the nearby homeless shelters such as Salvation Army’s Harbor Light since we are situated near downtown St. Louis and are therefore more accessible. Our largest referral population by far, however, comes from the Saint Louis Community Release Center, which houses 500 recently released ex-offenders, both men and women.
In fiscal year 2008 (July 1, 2007 - June 30, 2008), we assisted a total of 3,917 people.
View the annual report (pdf) for fiscal year 2008.
Details for referring agencies are here.
Scenes from Tuesday and Wednesday mornings at the Parish Center.
In addition to emergency services of food, clothing, and resource referrals we are well known in the city for helping our visitors obtain their Missouri State photo identification cards. The IDs allow them to move on in their search for employment, housing, schooling, child-care, food stamps etc. Without these identification cards, common everyday tasks are not possible and public services are not accessible. The Outreach Program also helps individuals get their birth certificate, the main document needed to acquire a Missouri State ID. Getting a birth certificate is becoming more difficult — because of identity theft issues, a photo ID card is now needed to get a birth certificate in most states; Missouri is one of the few exceptions. During FY 2008 we assisted 2,271 individuals with birth certificates and 2,129 with identification cards.
St. Vincent DePaul Society Affiliation
In 2008, the College Church Outreach Program became a “Special Works Conference” of the St. Vincent DePaul Society. Our focus as a conference is helping the homeless and the recently released from prison as well people in need who live in our area. This affiliation enables us to provide vouchers for clothing and other necessary items from the nearby St. Vincent DePaul thrift store on Forest Park Boulevard. We are also able to recommend people for utility bill assistance when the Society has grants available for that purpose.
Campus Kitchen Support
Saint Louis University’s Campus Kitchen project generously provides breakfast for our Outreach Program guests every third Tuesday and Wednesday of the month. This breakfast consists of bakery items such as pastries and scones as well as some bagels and a tray of fresh fruit.
Legal Clinic
As part of our Outreach Program, a Legal Clinic is offered on the 3rd Wednesday of every month staffed by attorney parishioner volunteers. If a case requires attention beyond what can be provided in a clinic session, the attorney will either take on the case himself or refer it to one of the pool of attorneys in the Parish who have volunteered to handle clinic cases. These services are for non-criminal cases only. Details are here.
P.E.O.P.L.E. 1st
In 2008 College Church began co-sponsoring the P.E.O.P.L.E. 1st employment program. P.E.O.P.L.E. 1st stands for People Eliminating Obstacles through the Pursuit of Learning and Employment. This is a holistic job readiness program developed and coordinated by Midtown Catholic Charities Community Services. It is a month long program from 9:00 am until 1:00 pm Monday through Friday which is designed by the assessed needs of the class. It addresses issues such as anger management, drug addiction, depression, and anxiety, as well as teaching the individuals how to write resumes, interview, meet potential employers, learn computer skills, and resources for dressing professionally.
During the Outreach Program we publicize this program to visitors looking for employment and we can pre-register them. We are always looking for more volunteers to help teach class sessions, to become a mentor, teach computer skills, or provide job opportunities for the graduates. If you are interested in volunteering please email Vicki Simon at vsimon1@slu.edu.
St. Francis Xavier (College) Church, St. Louis, MO