How can you give hope to homeless families in Osceola County? Mary Downey, Executive Director, Community Hope Center

Every Tuesday I hope to have a guest blogger feature certain initiatives or efforts going on in Central Florida. Know of someone? Send me their information here! - Kelly

How can you give hope to homeless families in Osceola County?
By: Mary Downey

Executive Director, Community Hope Center Director of Missions, Community Presbyterian Church

“But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.” Psalm 39:7

Seven years ago I moved to Central Florida. I was a small town girl from Arkansas and my view of the world was very limited. I knew that things like homelessness existed but back home in Arkansas, if someone was losing their home or couldn't afford rent, they usually had family or friends to lean on. Maybe someone would stop off the interstate and say they needed gas money to make it to Little Rock, but overall the scope of need in small town Arkansas seemed to center more around hunger issues, and less around housing.

So, when I moved to Florida it was a bit of a culture shock to realize that folks not only lived on the streets, but that whole families lived in hotels and motels located on the same road I take to Walt Disney World. Even in some of the hotels I had stayed, homeless families were living paycheck to paycheck and stuck in a vicious cycle of poverty. When I found this out, I wanted to help.

God moved us to Florida. I don’t often talk about it, but I got my first job in the church because God clearly directed me there. In that church, I met my calling. I was in charge of the Sunday Night Live service. Every Sunday night, at 5:30 homeless folks from the area would pile in to be fed a hot meal. Each Sunday I showed up, did a quick prayer and devotion and then snuck out the back door. I did this until God clearly spoke to me and asked me, “What do you think you are doing?” From that moment on, I began to stop looking at homeless people not as homeless people … but you know, as people. People like you and like me. People made in the image of God. Men and Women with struggles, doubts, and fears. They were children of God looking for connection and love and yearning for someone to offer them that without any expectations. I remember one night, I didn’t know what to do for a devotional, and so I decided to sing Amazing Grace instead of a prayer. I used to sing a lot, but at that time (and still today) I was not doing a lot of singing. But, when I was done singing, a woman came up to me. She had tears in her eyes, and she hugged me tighter than I’d ever been hugged. Then she pulled back, and kissed me right on the cheek. She told me that it was the first time she felt like someone really cared, cared enough to sing for her. In that moment, I heard God clearly say, these are my people, I love them … you do likewise.

Fast forward a few years and here I am today. I have worked in homeless shelters and churches. I have preached and I have served. I have cried and I have rejoiced. So, it was no surprise when God called me even deeper and told me that the county I lived in needed more. God positioned me in a wonderful church that wanted to make a difference in the lives of the homeless families living in our community through Community Presbyterian Church of Celebration. They heard the vision, latched on to God’s prompting and in a year and half we opened The Community Hope Center.

The Community Hope Center is an outreach center located in the heart of Osceola County for those who are facing homelessness in the community. It is hub where social service agencies are able to co-locate to better provide services to those in need.

The Community Hope Center is a multi-faceted program, which meets several needs of the community. As part of our case management strategy we have relied on best practices from other agencies to help individuals forge a path towards self-sufficiency. We have found, through our research, that holistic care is the strongest way to help an individual get a fresh start on life. By having a location that will house several agencies we have the ability to provide services from domestic violence to substance abuse. However, as a faith-based organization we also have the opportunity to offer spiritual guidance and care to those who have been marginalized in our society.

To be honest, it’s hard to talk about. When I’m interviewed about the project, I get so humbled that I can hardly talk about it’s inception. Yes, I’m the executive director of this program, and yes, I worked really hard … but it wasn’t me. It was never me. It was God. It is God.

And I still don’t know how to talk about it. It’s a huge part of my life. Working with homeless families, raising funds in the community to bring about kingdom transformation in the lives of these folks. But, I’m so humbled by it. I’m so honored by it. I just can’t even explain it. 

But you see – I think something happened. I think God showed up. I think God planned this all along. I could tell you story after story about how doors just opened up that I thought would be closed to us. About donations from folks who gave money strictly on faith that this was God’s will. I could tell you about how the staff of the Hope Center just fell into place in such a way that only God could have orchestrated it. Yes. Something BIG happened. Not just in opening the Center. But also in giving me my hopes and dreams. Allowing me to fulfill my calling to serve the least of these in a way that connects the church to the world. 

But, Mary Downey is not The Community Hope Center. I can’t take ownership of something that isn’t mine. I can’t brag about what I've done at an organization that may be placed in my hands, but is completely and totally managed by God. Everyday is a challenge but so rewarding. Right now we're working on a plan that requires us to raise $400,000 toward the purchase of our building on Highway 192 and we have to find even more volunteers to serve the families due to an expected but unfortunate high turnout of families in need. How do you begin to tackle that? Prayer. Prayer changes things. 

Perhaps you are feeling some of the same tugs I did concerning the betterment of homeless families in our community. If you would like to get involved in The Community Hope Center, please contact moreinfo@hope192.com. 

Mary Lee Downey

Executive Director, Community Hope Center Director of Missions, Community Presbyterian Church

The Community Hope Center

How would you spend $100 right now? Nate Groover, President, Board of Directors, Christian Service Center

Every Tuesday I hope to have a guest blogger feature certain initiatives or efforts going on in Central Florida. Know of someone? Send me their information here! - Kelly

How would you spend $100 right now? 
By: Nate Groover
President, Board of Directors, Christian Service Center

The Christian Service Center began in 1971 to provide assistance to individuals and families who were facing critical need. The mission of the Christian Service Center is to prevent homelessness, combat poverty, cultivate self-sufficiency, restore hope and glorify God through faithful provision of services that directly address physical, emotional and spiritual needs for families and individuals who are struggling in Central Florida. 

How many times can you spend $100 over and over in your mind? New clothes? Shoes? Car payment? A new cell phone? Taking your spouse out for a really nice dinner? Buying your child the latest toy on the market? I have done all of the above. So how do I justify that? Well, I have needs as a human being and I like to provide for my family as anyone would. I do need suits for work. I have to have a car to get around town. I need a cell phone to make business calls and keep in touch with friends. And, yes, as a father, sometimes I'm guilty of buying the latest and greatest toys for my kids. I am lucky to be able to provide for my family. But what about people who don't have the blessings and means that we do to take care of their own needs? What do they do?

That is where the Christian Service Center helps to fill the gaps and lend a hand to those who simply need a little help fulfilling their needs, which are more along the lines of nourishment and good health than an iPhone5S, the latest Playstation system or yes, even Angry Birds toys (my 4 year old son is obsessed).

The CSC hosts a few different programs under its wing like KidFOCUS, Fresh Start and Love Pantry, but there are two that I'd like to highlight here. Family and Emergency Services (FES) provided emergency relief and assistance to 11,814 people in 2012 with items like food, clothing, rent assistance, transportation and medication. They also fund Daily Bread, where in 2012 they served 177,231 meals, averaging to about 568 meals per day! I try not to think about what those people would do if our organization didn't have the means to feed them. Go hungry maybe. Be embarrassed to beg for their meal from people walking around. Sort through trashcans, hoping to find someone's unfinished meal.

Check out the stats below. It amazes me the work we are able to do with so little.

• $750 provides 1,110 meals for an entire semester through the Love Pantry
• $500 prevents a family from losing their home after enduring a crisis
• $170 provides a scholarship for a man looking for a fresh start in life
• $100 provides food for 450 hungry neighbors through Daily Bread
• $50 provides a week of learning enrichment for a child at risk of a lifetime of poverty

So why do I serve? I personally feel the Lord leading me to help others, to give because I have been given to and I am blessed enough to give back...but I will leave you with this testimonial that motivates me daily to keep finding ways we can reduce the number of homeless families in Orlando. 


“I made the last bottle of baby formula this morning. I get WIC assistance, but it’s not enough. I applied for food stamps, but was turned down because my husband made a few dollars too much. We haven’t been able to catch up on our bills. We were doing OK and then the car broke down. My husband needs the car to get to work, so we did what we had to do, but then there was no money for the electrical bill. This place is changing lives. Thank you for feeding my baby.” - FES client

So how can you help? We have plenty of volunteer opportunities. Get your company involved and sign up to serve in our kitchen for just one meal, donate items for the Love Pantries in schools all over Orange County or help collect clothing items for our FES Program. However you choose to give, I hope you will join me in fighting one of the fastest growing problems in Central Florida until families can fulfill their needs like we do every day.

Sincerely,

Nate Groover
President, Board of Directors, Christian Service Center, 2013
http://www.christianservicecenter.org
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Which side are you on?

Opened right up to today's quote on community. "In genuine community there are no sides." - M. Scott Peck

I credit choosing sides to human passion. We are all passionate about different things. Sometimes that same passion (disguised as opinion) can blind us, causing us to have a hard time seeing why others might feel the way they do, creating sides. This causes us to say and think life-taking words about people in moments of frustration, like "How can they feel that way? Don't they see the proof in the numbers I presented? Didn't they hear what I just said?" 

Then, when their idea fails, we find the "I told you so." undertone projected behind everything that comes out of our mouths. But, if our idea fails, we tend to start our next sentence with "Wellllll" or "But I didn't know that they...", implying we CLEARLY didn't have the whole truth... 

Mmmm humble pie... tastes good...(and I would know the way the Gator football team has been playing lately!)

Sometimes when we come across this, specifically in community situations, not to be cliche, but we really have to ask ourselves what the other side is thinking. What is their objective? WHY are they thinking their way is best? Am I missing something? Is it really better? ::chomp chomp:: mmmm more humble pie. 

Let's look at elected officials. We're not always going to agree with the people elected to make decisions for our community, regardless of how we voted on Election Day. That doesn't mean we should spring out hate messages through every outlet possible and rip them apart. We're all human beings and all that is going to do is cause more hurt and pain. The saying "nobody likes a sore loser" is not just about sports. 

Next time you are involved in a situation like this, work or personal, try not to take a side, but instead get on the same page as the other party involved and form a new opinion, together. Educate yourself on their beliefs/passions. Slowly, the internal wall of hatred will start to fall. If you only worry about your own side and point of view, you'll miss a HUGE opportunity. A really important one. An opportunity to GROW as a person. You can still disagree, but the more you understand the opposition, the wall will continue to fall, brick by brick. 

There is a whole silver lining here that we have to keep reminding ourselves about. Everybody is just trying to do what they think is best. Sure, some have personal agendas, but that can't be your worry. Creating community requires a genuine heart and always starts with just one person, fulfilling a passion. 

Remember, as different as we all are, as opinionated as we all are, we will always have one thing in common. 

We're on the same side. 

Kelly