St. Columba Ecumenical Ministries, Inc

Mission of St. Columba To operate an ecumenical ministry in response to the Biblical mandate to minister to persons in need, whether these needs are economic, social or spiritual.

Brief History of St. Columba Started as St. Columba Presbyterian Church in 1957. St. Columba was chosen because of his reputation as a great healer and teacher. The church initially focused on helping the low- income residents of nearby neighborhoods, then began helping the homeless and needy, thus being the start of the ministry. When the church folded in the 1970’s the ministries continued.

Brief History of St. Columba St. Columba was incorporated as a 501(c)3 in 1987 and the name was changed to St. Columba Ecumenical Ministries, Inc. St. Columba has been instrumental in forming the Dwelling Place, the Samaritan House and the Virginia Beach Winter Shelter.   St. Columba operated a drop in center in Virginia Beach in 1991 and from that came the idea for the St. Columba Day Center in Norfolk. Moved to current location in 1995.

Staff and Volunteers Director of Ministries – Alicia Mathews – 2002. Assistant Director/Bookkeeper – Helmi Ortiz – 1976. Homeless Advocate – Krystle Pomory - 2009. Day Center Assistant – David Gungle - 2006.   2 Next Step Case Managers Melinda Robinson – 2009. Ike Bingham – 1999. Governed by a Board of 10 members About a dozen volunteers Day Center volunteers Newsletter volunteers Special Events – School Supplies, Thanksgiving and Christmas volunteers

Next Step Two-year transitional housing for homeless single adults. Provides clients with the opportunity to become self-sufficient. All clients must be clean from drugs and alcohol, former residents of Norfolk, and have the ability to live fairly independently. Case managers assist clients in overcoming issues that perpetuate homelessness, including substance abuse, employment, education, criminal history, physical and mental health, life skills and basic needs. Interested individuals should call to schedule an appointment or be placed on our waiting list if we are full. Last year 9 clients moved into permanent housing.

Next Step House                                          Next Step has 4 houses in Norfolk that serve as home for 16 formerly homeless individuals. Two houses are for women and two are for men. This is one of the men’s houses.

Day Center Monday - Thursday, 9-2 Homeless and extremely low-income clients can meet basic needs such as showers, coffee, sandwiches, laundry Average of 56 clients each day, but can be over 80 Last calendar year we: Served 1,426 clients Provided 2,168 showers Gave out 10,374 sandwiches Did 599 loads of client laundry

Homeless Advocate Available for more individualized needs of Day Center clients. Last calendar year the Homeless Advocate: Met with 519 clients. Obtained DMV ID cards for 20 individuals. Gave boots to 20 homeless individuals. Assisted 227 persons with bus passes. Allowed clients to make 1,349 phone calls. Provided temporary mailing address for 10 clients.

Clothing Closet Clothing Closet is open Mondays, 9-10. Mostly men’s clothes as there is a greater demand. Average of 24 clients each Monday. Last year we had 975 visits to the clothing closet. Women’s and children’s clothing is available on a rack in the Day Center and is first come first serve.

Clothing Closet All clothing is obtained through donations and special collections.

Food Pantry Open Monday through Thursday 9 am to 2 pm. Families and individuals are provided with enough food for three days.   All clients must have a written referral from their case manager or social services in order to receive food.   Clients must be Norfolk residents and are eligible once every 90 days for emergency food assistance. We make special purchases when we have specific needs.   We serve approximately 70 households each month.

Food Pantry Our food pantry is stocked through donations of nonperishable items from churches and individuals to help feed hungry families.

Financial Assistance Sometimes families and individuals encounter a hardship (illness, loss of work, accident) that has causes their normally tight budget to be stretched beyond its means. Many people are living from paycheck to paycheck. St. Columba offers financial assistance for rent and utilities to help prevent homelessness in our community.  

Rental Assistance St. Columba Ecumenical Ministries, Inc. applies for funding from grants each year to provide rental assistance to families and individuals in Norfolk and Virginia Beach. We are waiting for the approval of our 2010 grant. Initial contact must be via phone; we do not take any applications in our office. Last year 23 households were assisted.

Utility Assistance We provide partial utility assistance to residents in Norfolk and Virginia Beach.   We can only help with power and water bills. Assistance is based on information gathered through a phone application when we have funds available. We require that the utility be in immediate threat of disconnection. Once per lifetime due to extremely limited funds and an increased demand for the service. We have helped 31 households this year.

Prescription Assistance Specifically for homeless persons in Norfolk. Cannot fill narcotics or psychotropic drugs. Cannot have other medical assistance. Intended to fill a gap while other resources are obtained. Last year we filled 969 prescriptions for 350 clients.

Special Programs Easter – St. Columba receives prepared Easter Baskets donated from churches each year.  We helped approximately 121 children this Easter.   School Supplies – School supplies are collected by churches and individuals during the summer. Parents can stop by the first week of school with the lists of supplies. Staff and volunteers collect supplies for them as available.  We helped 238 students last year.

School Supplies School supplies are provided to hundreds of kids through donations and hours of volunteer work each year.

Special Programs Thanksgiving – We provide families with all the staple items for a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Items are received through donations and special purchases. Volunteers and staff work out of Lafayette Presbyterian Church the week of Thanksgiving to sort, pack and distribute approximately 125 baskets. Christmas – Christmas food baskets are similar to Thanksgiving and we provide gifts received through an angel tree program with local churches.  Last year we provided 50 families with food and gifts to make the holidays a little warmer.

Thanksgiving St. Columba’s Thanksgiving ministry is not possible without the support of volunteers from our community.

Funding St. Columba is funded through federal, local and foundation grants and donations from churches, businesses and individuals. Supportive Housing Program – Next Step Community Development Block Grant – Next Step match and Homeless Advocate/Day Center Assistant Emergency Shelter Grant – Day Center Human Services Grant – Prescription Program Emergency Food and Shelter Program – Rental Assistance Undesignated donations – Utility Assistance

Match Funds Our grants require anywhere from a 1:5 match (for every 5 dollars of government money, we have to come up with 1 dollar) to a 1:1 match (for every dollar of grant money we have to match with 1 dollar).   While a majority of the match can be done through actual dollars, we are also permitted by some funding sources to use in-kind donations.  

In-Kind Donations Sandwiches that are donated for our Day Center are valued at a dollar each and these count towards our match requirement. Things such as food, clothes, and household items are assigned a value and also counted towards our match for our Next Step program.   When in-kind donations are received, they are not only going directly to help those in need, they are also helping us meet our match and satisfy our grant agreement.

We need you! St. Columba is a small ministry, but we reach many people.  The idea is to welcome all persons, in whatever state they find themselves and to help when permitted. We depend on the support of our community to continue to provide to those who come to us in need.

How Can You Help? Our current, urgent needs include razors, travel size lotion and toothpaste, washcloths, bottled water, and men’s jeans. Make sandwiches for our Day Center. Create snack for the Day Center. Create hygiene kits including hotel/sample size of some of the following: Shampoo, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, razors, washcloth, comb etc.

How Can You Help? Volunteer either in the Day Center or for a special event (information about volunteer opportunities can be found on our website or by calling Alicia). Become a Board member. Meetings are the first Monday of each month. Contact Alicia for more information. Make a financial contribution – all of our grants require match funds and are becoming more competitive requiring us to seek financial support outside the regular funding streams.

Sandwiches We depend on sandwiches made by various groups in our community to provide food to the clients in our Day Center.

Sandwiches Groups of all ages can help the homeless – here the Director makes sandwiches with a preschool class.

Questions Questions??? Thank You!!!

Contact Information St. Columba Ecumenical Ministries, Inc. 2114 Lafayette Blvd., Norfolk, VA 23509 office: 627-6748 fax: 622-2569 On the web: www.stcolumbaministries.com Email: admin@stcolumba.hrcoxmail.com