News & Updates | Posted Wednesday, January 6, 2021
The cost of living in Durham, North Carolina, is going up with each passing year. As rents rise, more people struggle to find affordable housing. This need grew sharply in 2020, too, as the pandemic and related shutdowns led to spiking unemployment. “What we have seen, and what we anticipate, is that more people will find themselves unsheltered as a …
News & Updates | Posted Thursday, May 14, 2020
The CWS office in Jersey City is full of hope. Everyone who walks through our doors—or, during this time of pandemic, talks to our staff on the phone or through a video call—is hopeful for the future. They have hope for their children, for their families and for the new, safe life they are building here in New Jersey. Our …
News & Updates | Posted Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Communities across the United States are scrambling to stop the spread of coronavirus. Churches, businesses, individuals and local governments are teaming up to care for their neighbors. Rhode Island is no exception. The Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency has opened temporary shelters for people experiencing homelessness. As Pamela Leary from RIEMA explains: “The Governors’ office, the RI Emergency Management Agency, …
News & Updates | Posted Monday, April 20, 2020
The world has been turned upside down due to the COVID-19 pandemic – many organizations are having to change their entire programs while maintaining their purpose: trying to help those in need. One example is The Bowery Mission in New York City. The Bowery Mission has been around for 140 years, staying open during the Spanish Flu, the Great Depression …
News & Updates | Posted Wednesday, January 29, 2020
This story was written by Holly Buchanan, a volunteer at a food bank in Snohomish County, Washington. This was a good day at the food bank! The Pacific Northwest trifecta of cold, dark and rainy gave us a chilly drizzle today, and yesterday I heard on the news that we haven’t had an officially sunny day in nearly two months. …
News & Updates | Posted Thursday, August 1, 2019
In June, 2018 the major news networks arrived in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, turning their cameras to the walkways of the international bridges over the Rio Grande, and the effects of the Zero Tolerance policy on asylum-seeking families at the border was revealed to the country and the world. Observant television viewers and readers of news reports could …
News & Updates | Posted Friday, August 31, 2018
Nestled along the Appalachian Mountains, the Upper East Tennessee Human Development Agency is in the heart of poverty-ridden America. UETHDA serves Carter, Greene, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi and Washington counties. Teams in each of the agency’s nine Neighborhood Service Centers work daily to help clients overcome the daily hardships that they face. Specifically, they offer assistance that helps people …
News & Updates | Posted Friday, August 31, 2018
The residents of southern California are accustomed to wildfires during the summer. But this summer was different. The fires were more intense. A record-setting heat wave, coupled with moderate winds, sparked brush fires across southern California that destroyed homes and forced thousands to evacuate. Not knowing whether their homes would still be standing, hundreds of residents fled the West Willows …
News & Updates | Posted Saturday, February 24, 2018
Huddled by a small fire under an overpass, Dawn ate her warm meal and confessed, “I’d never camped a day in my life before being out here.” She is new to homelessness and credits her friend Matthew for helping her acclimate to her new situation. She told us that she once served in Operation Desert Storm, raised a family and …
News & Updates | Posted Friday, December 1, 2017
California may look like a picture-perfect place in television and movies, but skyrocketing rents and lack of affordable housing has resulted in a housing crisis in many urban areas. In San Diego, Community Christian Services Agency provides services for needy families and individuals experiencing homelessness who take refuge in the canyons of Pacific Beach. Though small, CCSA provides a variety …