The Interfaith Hospitality Network of Greater Cleveland is a private, non-profit organization whose mission is to provide hospitality to homeless families. IHN offers compassionate care to homeless families, alleviates the trauma of homelessness and assists families in securing a stable home. IHN provides a caring, dignified environment of overnight hospitality in church and synagogue facilities, and provides an array supportive services to help families become self-sufficient.

 

BPC has been in partnership with IHN since 2000. We will be hosting families through IHN three times in 2008; March 23-30, June 22-28 and December 14-20. Each hosting week requires the help of approx 60 volunteers to set-up/tear down the facilities, provide meals and host evenings and overnight. What a great opportunity to profoundly experience Jesus' heart for the poor by sharing the tangible gifts of warm shelter and meals and, more importantly, the intangible and priceless gift of your kindness, patience, and compassion.

 

Please prayerfully consider becoming apart of this rewarding outreach. 

E-mail Chris Stasa TODAY to help with the coming hosting week, December 14-20, 2008 
or to find out more about sharing Christ's love with homeless families right here at BPC. 

• IHN’s 60+ diverse congregations open their doors to provide meals, shelter, and companionship.  Thousands of volunteers open their hearts each year to make guests feel welcome. 
• IHN guests receive safe day shelter and intensive social services at IHN’s two Family Centers to provide them with resources to gain stable employment and housing.
• IHN transports homeless children to their original school, and familiar friends and teachers provide stability as they deal with the trauma of homelessness.
• IHN’s Homeless Family Support Project provides practical support during and after guests’ 60-day stay: mentoring, life skills training, children’s enrichment, and Welcome Wagon, providing donated furniture and household items to turn a house into a home.

More information about IHN Cleveland can be found at ihncleveland.org.

Family Shelter Needs 26,000 people experience homelessness each year in Greater Cleveland and about 4,000 people are homeless each night. 40% of these are part of a family.  47% of children live in poverty in Cleveland, just one or two hardships away from homelessness.  The average age of a homeless person in the US is eight years old; the average age of a homeless IHN child is seven. 

Nationwide Trend  One of the fastest growing segments of the homeless population is families with children.  Poverty and lack of affordable housing are the principal cause of family homelessness.  In Cleveland, a person must make over $11.00 per hour to afford fair market value for a two-bedroom apartment.  Waiting lists are long for Public Housing and housing vouchers. Cash assistance is now time limited and difficult to acquire and continue.

Family Shelter Shortage   There are few other organizations in the County offering emergency shelter to homeless families, including those headed by single fathers, couples, or those with older teenage sons.  The result is a citywide capacity that falls short of the need for family emergency shelter.

IHN Cleveland is always in need of volunteers!  Contact our Volunteer Coordinators (Marilyn Wright or Gina Morris at 216-771-9620) to find the perfect niche for you. Perhaps you are called to be a mentor, teach JumpStart training, help with Welcome Wagon, bring a teen group to help paint or perform a spring clean-up, or help out as a “handyman” at our Family Center.

IHN 4^th Annual Golf-a-Thon  IHN is recruiting golfers for our 4^th annual Golf-a-Thon to be held Monday, June 2^nd at Legend Lake Golf Club in Chardon.  Golfers can play individually or as a marathon team and will take to the links in an attempt to golf 100 holes in one day.  Golfers raise pledges in advance on a per-hole basis.  IHN is also seeking corporate sponsors to help us continue serving homeless families in Cleveland.  More information is available in Connector.

A chance to profoundly experience Jesus' heart for the poor.  Help BPC host homeless families and women 3 wks/yr at BPC. E-mail Chris Stasa for more information. Please prayerfully consider becoming apart of this rewarding outreach.

Coordinators work together to plan how the program will operate best at BPC.