New Partnership with Connections for the Homeless: October 9, 2020

We are pleased to announce that the UCE Endowment Fund and the Board of Trustees have approved a grant of $40,000 to fund a Housing Specialist position for Connections for the Homeless (CFTH). The Prison Ministry and the Food and Shelter Team cooperated in submitting the proposal to the Endowment Fund for this position. At CFTH, a housing specialist identifies landlords who will accept persons who are homeless, some returning from prison, some with substance abuse problems, and mental illness. The specialist also helps clients understand what is involved in renting an apartment. In a recent meeting with the staff at CFTH we learned that this is one of the largest gifts from a faith community.  

We should be proud of this new partnership and the bold efforts we will make to change lives, one person at a time. There are three areas where volunteers are needed: Direct Service, Housing Advocacy and Prison Ministry. We want you to be a part of this partnership. Let’s lift up UCE’s financial commitment and match it with a commitment of time, skills, and love.  

The Volunteer Opportunities Will Focus on Three Areas

Direct Service including options such as making lunches, helping at the clothing room, collecting appropriate clothing, or doing a toiletry drive. 

Affordable Housing Advocacy including writing letters, talking with legislators, attending meetings with City of Evanston staff, and  

Solidarity Circles including providing support to persons recently released from prison by helping them get their feet on the ground, listening and building relationships with those with criminal records, and providing various types of support.  

More information will be available as we organize the congregation to help build this new partnership. 

Opportunities for UCE to be an Ally with Connections  

We can assist in these efforts while increasing awareness, advocacy, and volunteer efforts for UCE congregants and build on the existing relationship with CFTH.  Social justice projects, using volunteers, provide an opportunity for church members to build relationships with persons returning from prison and people who are homeless, thus deepening our understanding of what it means to be in relationship with people who have been marginalized.  

 How Do we Start this Partnership?

A UCE Coordinating Committee has been organized to work in three areas to promote volunteering opportunities. The group has met with staff at CFTH, and soon will be offering volunteer options for the congregation.  Members of the Committee include Shirley Adams, Les Butler, Dale Griffin, Sheila Holder, Jeanne Kerl, Judy LeFevour, Carol Nielsen, Maggie Weiss, and Dennis Wilson with support from Rev. Susan Frances. 

Prison Ministry and Food and Shelter Team 

The UCE Prison Ministry Team has a goal of encouraging supportive housing on the North Shore for people returning from prison or with a criminal record.  Finding housing is often more critical even before getting a job. Persons returning from prison often do not have credit or a work history, and with a criminal record, landlords are reluctant to rent to them. The Food and Shelter Team has worked on a variety of housing related issues in the past, most notably sponsoring a refugee family to furnish their apartment and providing support for their integration into American society.  

Some of the Challenges for Finding Housing: 

Why We Chose Connections for the Homeless: 

Connections for the Homeless is an organization based in Evanston with strong ties to our church community. Several congregants have volunteered with CFTH over the past ten years. We have also served clients through the Mitten Tree and Our Giving House. The mission of Connections is to combat homelessness, the most visible and solvable form of poverty. Homelessness is also a symptom of institutional racism, historical inequities, and failures in many systems on many levels. CFTH’s recent response to the COVID-19 pandemic is an example of their success in responding to a crisis and finding both financial resources and housing at this critical time.  

Connections for the Homeless serves 2,100 people a year. In addition to the direct services they provide, CFTH has been working vigorously with others in the community to identify root causes of homelessness through advocacy for more affordable housing and greater equity in housing practices.  

CFTH estimates that at least half of their clients have criminal records, making the search for housing difficult.  Approximately 50 % of CFTH clients are women, so their efforts support the housing of both men and women returning from prison.  

Why does our Faith Call us to do this work? 

We are called to undertake this work by our respect for the inherent worth and dignity of each person, by our understanding that “hurt people hurt people”, and by our desire to promote healing of trauma caused by systemic injustice. We promote justice, equity, and compassion. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers.  We want to engage in action, and not fall into the easy practice of just studying the problem.  By getting our members proximate to the lives of those directly affected, we hope to motivate our members with a sense of urgency for change. 

Submitted by Dale Griffin and Carol Nielsen