Outreach to the Poor

"The bread you do not use is the bread of the hungry.  The garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of the person who is naked.  The shoes you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot.  The money you keep locked away is the money of the poor.  The acts of charity you do not perform are injusticies you commit."

St. Basil the Great 

As part of its mission to provide advocacy and support to the marginalized and to promote social ministry programs, the Office of Life, Peace, and Justice assists parishes with developing ministries and partnering with existing organizations to assist the poor and vulnerable in our diocese.   

The first step in assisting people to overcome poverty, is to determine the needs of the poor living in our communities.  What are the conditions that have led to their poverty and how can we assist them with obtaining the things they need to survive and, more importantly, how can we help them to overcome the things that are holding them back?  Once we identify the problems, we can then work together to contribute to solutions.  Ways that we can address poverty in our communities include:

• Assistance with having access to food, water, and other necessities.
• Providing temporary shelter and assisting to develop affordable long-term living opportunities.
• Providing educational opportunities to help people develop important skills needed to get and keep a job.
• Helping people to find employment opportunities and providing needed support so they can maintain employment.