This Homeless Offering Sunday marks the 23rd year that churches have taken this offering, which is distributed in grants to ministries throughout the North Georgia Conference. This year's theme is "Help in Hard Times," since these are hard times for people who are unemployed. As demand for assistance has increased, ministries that provide help are struggling to keep up with the growing needs.
When you support the Homeless Offering, your money goes to homeless shelters, feeding programs, domestic violence shelters, utility and rent assistance ministries, Habitat for Humanity houses, and programs that prevent homelessness or help home-less persons learn skills. These ministries are located all over the North Georgia Conference, in large and small communities. All of the Homeless Offering funds will be distributed to programs that help people in need.
Every ministry that requests funding from the Homeless Offering must have an endorsement from a United Methodist Church and a recommendation from the District Superintendent. The applicants receive site visits from Council members, who come back to the whole Council with recommendations about funding for the project. This assures that the funds are allocated responsibly to ministries that will use them to help people in need.
Rev. Virginia Tinsley, Director of the Housing and Homeless Council, has been working with ministries that serve homeless persons for thirty years. She is available to assist with churches and groups that want to start new ministries to serve people in their communities. Her phone number is 678-533-1379, and her email is director@nghhc.org.
The application deadlines for the Homeless Offering are March 1 and September 1. The spring cycle application information is currently on the Housing and Homeless Council's web site at www.nghhc.org.