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 …
News & Updates | Posted Friday, December 1, 2017
Kentucky may be in the south, but that doesn’t prevent the state from experiencing extreme bouts of cold in the winter, particularly in the evenings when it frequently drops below freezing. This is particularly difficult for those who are experiencing homelessness. WestCare Kentucky Emergency Shelter in Pikeville is described by director Anna Coleman as Pikeville’s “…best kept secret” since many …
News & Updates | Posted Wednesday, November 5, 2014
“We never needed help before. We didn’t know where to turn for help.” Volunteers heard that a lot recently as they delivered CWS Kits and Blankets to survivors of destructive flooding in hard-to-reach rural areas of Floyd County, Ky. Many residents said they had never been flooded before heavy rains in late summer caused flash flooding and overflowing creeks. Many …
News & Updates | Posted Friday, March 7, 2014
I’m sitting here in my warm office in Ohio having survived two or three polar vortexes and several massive dumpings of snow. One thought seems to continually enter my head: What are the people who call the outside home doing this winter? And then a second question: What am I doing for them? There are many instances in our lives …
News & Updates | Posted Thursday, September 26, 2013
In areas of Colorado ravaged by floods earlier this month, CWS Emergency Clean Up Buckets, Blankets and Kits are getting into the hands of survivors. In Longmont, Colo. — population 88,000 — some 7,000 houses were affected, said the Rev. Rick King, Senior Minister of the United Church of Christ, Longmont. His congregation’s disaster response team is assisting local households …