“Shelter the Homeless”, one of the Corporal Works of Mercy, is taken very seriously by the people of Nativity, as evidenced by the generous support given to the Dorothy Day House, Churches United for the Homeless, the Salvation Army and the YWCA Shelter. But the people of Nativity want to go beyond emergency shelter to help people stay in their homes, as is the focus of Presentation Partners in Housing, one of our Care and Share Ministries, and even to create new homes, as our recent Habitat for Humanity Apostles Build has done.

This spring we have the opportunity to participate in a wonderful project sponsored by a group that shares our desire to do more, Beyond Shelter, Inc. This group is constructing the Cooper House, permanent supportive housing for people coming out of homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless. The forty-three rental units are scheduled for completion by May 1st. The project follows the “housing first” model that believes getting people into stable housing and bringing appropriate services to them is the best way to improve their lives and also benefit the community. For long-time Fargo residents, the name was chosen because the building is constructed at the site of the former Cooper Tire Company at 414 11th St. North.

Furnishing these apartments is the opportunity for us to help. Beds, tables and chairs, and even a quilt for each apartment have already been donated. We are asked to take on the responsibility of outfitting one – or more – of these apartments with linens, dishes, cooking utensils, cleaning supplies and other items essential to setting up an apartment. The Social Justice Commission has committed to one apartment and hope that other groups or individuals would like to be involved, too. The list of needs for an apartment is not long. Many of us have realized that we already have enough “extras” at home to meet many of the requests.

Time in late April will be designated for getting our apartments ready for their new tenants and to see the entire project. There will even be a prize awarded for the “homiest apartment.” We would love to see a “Nativity Row” of apartments at the Cooper House!

If you would like to be involved or need more information, contact Cathy Schwinden – 232-2414 or at cathys@nativitycatholicchurch.net.

Information on the Cooper House and lists of what is needed for each apartment will be available in the wall pocket by the northeast church entrance.

Tags: Apostles, Churches United For The Homeless, Cleaning Supplies, Committed To One, Cooking Utensils, Cooper Tire, Corporal Works Of Mercy, Dorothy Day, Emergency Shelter, First Model, Generous Support, Habitat For Humanity, Homelessness, Justice Commission, Permanent Supportive Housing, Requests Time, Salvation Army, Tables And Chairs, Tire Company, Ywca

This entry was posted on February 22, 2010 at 11:11 am and is filed under Faith Life, Social Justice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.