By CHLOE COOK, Glenn Memorial Member and Director Of Operations at Intown Collaborative Ministries
Born out of and supported by faith-based congregations including Glenn Memorial UMC, Intown Collaborative Ministries mobilizes our community to serve our neighbors who are most vulnerable: those experiencing homelessness and hunger. Intown operates two programs: our food pantry and our homeless outreach program.
At the pantry we provide each guest with a week’s worth of groceries for their family or household when they visit. In addition to responding to the immediate need of hunger, our pantry is a space where relationships can begin to be built with a focus on long-term and sustainable solutions. In 2020, we served over 3,500 people at the food pantry. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we tripled the number of days the pantry was open, distributed 300% more pounds of food than the previous year, and served 140% more families.
All of this was and continues to be possible because of our community of supporters. We have 8 volunteers in the pantry each day it is open, many of whom are members of Glenn. We can offer a variety of food and meet the growing need in our community because of food drives. Since March, Glenn has hosted food drives during the Souper Bowl of Caring, vacation Bible school, the pumpkin patch, Advent, and more!
As we look into the future, Intown is exploring ways to safely offer more choice to our food pantry guests. We are also looking towards safe distribution models, such as contactless delivery, for our guests who are extremely vulnerable or unable to afford to travel to the pantry.
Intownʼs Homeless Outreach Program is based on the Housing First philosophy – everyone is ready for and deserving of housing right now. We work with individuals experiencing homelessness within the City of Atlanta, using a harm reduction and person-centered approach. Our team of social workers, case managers, and peer specialists meet folks where they are – under bridges, in encampments, on the street corner – and help the individual address his or her barriers to permanent, stable housing. The key outcome of the homeless outreach program is sustainable permanent housing for clients who have experienced homelessness.
Last year, the Homeless Outreach Program moved 139 individuals experiencing homelessness into their own home. We saw a 20% increase in the number of individuals accessing housing services. While this is in part due to the increase in need in the community, Intown was also able to grow our team in 2020. Since June 2020, we added 9 team members and new programs to address housing instability in the trans community, individuals with substance use issues, and individuals in repeated contact with law enforcement.
The Homeless Outreach team, with its deep trusting relationships with the members of our city’s homeless community, led efforts throughout the pandemic to ensure community members had knowledge, resources, and access to testing to keep safe. In the coming months, the team will help with efforts to make the vaccine available to the community.