News

Joseph's Center celebrates two years of helping needy

A volunteer helps a client at Joseph's Outreach Ministry on Seventh Avenue East.

By Bill Moss, Published: April 4, 2017

Joseph’s Center marked its second year of operation at 701B Seventh Avenue East on March 6, celebrating thousands of hours of volunteer help for needy people by more than 200 volunteers.

“We started with a small group of neighbors in the area who came for a meal on Sunday evenings,” said the Rev. Phillip Allen of Providence Baptist Church. “We had been serving about 30 friends for over 5 years and had outgrown our space at Cherry Street Baptist Church.” Now, two years later, Joseph’s Center has four teams from First Methodist, Grace Lutheran, First Congregational, and Providence Baptist churches that take turns on Sunday nights to serve between 60 and 80 people with much of the food donated by Fresh Market.
Joseph’s Center provides a place to be during the day for those who are out of work, disabled, or just having a string of bad luck. Guests can take a shower, wash their clothes, store their belongings and enjoy fellowship. Center volunteers refer guests to appropriate social services to help them find housing, get medical care and deal with their personal needs. Since opening in March of 2015, Joseph’s Center has served 1005 individuals, provided over 1838 showers and helped guests do 2074 loads of laundry on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Some guests live in their cars, camp in the woods or move from place to place with friends. Says Terri, one of the Center guests, “Joseph’s Center is like coming home. Being homeless is bad enough, but if I can’t shower and be clean, I feel like I’m not human.”
Austin Watson, Joseph’s Center board chair says, “We are a community of people who look after each other and care about each other. We are delighted when we can celebrate a guest moving to housing or getting a new job.”

Joseph’s Center has trained 223 volunteers who logged 6,523 hours in 2016. Some guests come in for a cup of coffee or just have a place “to be” during the day. James says: “I had a stroke and seizures and lost my career as a truck driver. Joseph’s Center gives me a place to go where I can work on job applications. I plan to go back to school to learn a new trade.”Many volunteers tells us this is uplifting and rewarding for them. “I really did not understand homelessness. Now I have new friends who I care about.”
Joseph’s Center is a non-profit organization and operates a community resource center for those in need. It was launched as a mission of First United Methodist Church.

For more information or to volunteer, visit www.JOMMinistries.org or contact Robin Corbin at rrcorbin@morrisbb.net or Chuck White at chuck.white@jomministries.org.