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Advocacy Network to End Family Homelessness
Interfaith
Youth Initiative - IFYI |
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CMM partnerships produces results in Katrina's aftermath CMM in action > Hurricane / Gulf coast efforts |
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With strong
partnerships bridging race, religion, and socio-economic class, CMM was prepared to make connections and respond to the overwhelming needs
of Gulf Coast residents in the
wake of the 2005 hurricanes. When the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita brought hundreds of Gulf Coast residents to Massachusetts, Morningstar Baptist Church in Mattapan called to ask if a CMM congregation in Newton might be able to assist a
Katrina survivor family moving to Newton.
At the same time, CMM member Temple Emanuel in Newton called CMM asking how the congregation could help. CMM made the connection and the two congregations worked together to supply material needs and help the family integrate into the community. A Temple Emanuel member helped one of the family members to find employment. The family told CMM recently, “We have been graced by Temple Emanuel, Morningstar Baptist Church, and others and have truly experienced the love, compassion and sincerity of a community. We are truly enjoying becoming a part of Newton." CMM member First Parish Concord (FPC) also asked CMM for help to connect with a Gulf Coast family. Through Myrtle Baptist Church in Newton, also a CMM member congregation, we introduced FPC to a young woman and her daughter who had fled Mississippi and relocated Worcester. The whole congregation found ways to support her transition. Myrtle Baptist Church in Newton also led several efforts to send badly needed supplies to the Gulf Coast and to relocate several Gulf Coast families in Newton. We alerted our members that help from CMM congregations was needed and soon CMM Congregations from Concord, Newton, and Lexington joined the effort by offering volunteers and donating food and gifts. Trinitarian Congregational Church in Concord purchased $1000 worth of food for the effort. Several congregations also raised rent money for families moving into Newton apartments. Pilgrim Church in Sherborn joined with its partner congregation Bethel AME Church in Jamaica Plain to help supply furniture and household goods for five Gulf Coast families relocating to Massachusetts. CMM member Eliot Church in Newton Corner inquired how its youth could help. CMM asked Children’s Services of Roxbury, the central agency working with Katrina evacuees in Massachusetts, for a list of supplies needed by five families. The church’s youth group and their parents put together five large plastic tubs containing the requested items – one for each family. They also assembled gift bags of toiletries and little luxury items for the mothers. An individual from the church donated $1000, which was used to purchase gift cards from discount stores and supermarkets. One young girl used furnishings purchased with her gift card to decorate the bedroom in her new apartment. CMM learned of a family from the Gulf Coast now living in Boston who needed $1800 to fund a trip back to Texas to gather all that remained of their belongings. They had been put in storage when the family evacuated. Upon receiving CMM’s recommendation, Temple Shalom in Newton donated the entire amount.
Second Congregational Church in Cohasset bought and delivered Christmas presents for a holiday party sponsored by MassFaithHelps, an organization formed to connect Katrina survivors in Massachusetts with churches. The Parkside Nursery School in Newton worked with CMM to sponsor a toy drive for the same holiday party.
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CMM 474 Centre Street Newton, MA 02458 Phone: 617-244-3650
© 2008 Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries. All Rights Reserved. |
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