| From Rev. Ron Loughry, Executive Director of FCHUM |
FCHUM Ministries News - Volume 13 Issue 4 - Autumn 2011
As September transitions to October, as Summer gives way to Autumn, I am reminded of the writings from Ecclesiastes, “to everything there is a season”. If you are at all familiar with the mission and work of FCHUM, you know that our seasons of serving seem constant because need is constantly growing. Therefore, we must be constantly vigilant in our planning and in the use of resources entrusted to us to serve our neighbors in need. Our summer of heat and drought is not far behind us and we remember our fatigue. It is also easy for us to experience seasons of compassion-drought or giving-fatigue when we are asked every season to help provide for ever increasing need. It is understandable to tire of hearing this need preached, to tire of opening this newsletter and reading of continued need. I, too, get tired. We must, then, remember to drink deeply of God’s Grace, to remember that each act of mercy and giving, each act of providing food, each act of caring for a frail older adult, each act of equipping children to do better in school, each act preventing homelessness are acts of worship. Read more here.
St. Stephens Church Youth help FCHUM during Metro Brightside Event.
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Individual and family assistance center
The mission of the Individual & Family Assistance Center is to provide a caring, responsive environment to which families in crisis come to receive assistance in resolving their crisis. IFAC meets basic needs by providing food, clothing, personal items, and emergency financial assistance (for rent or mortgage, utilities, & prescriptions). The Individual & Family Assistance Center works with families, connecting them with other community services, and when needed advocates on their behalf. The Individual & Family Assistance Center provides life skills counseling, job networking, and other resource information to help families move beyond their crisis and move toward self sufficiency. Special holiday and seasonal programs are also provided to help families in need.
At the beginning, the main focus of Fern Creek/Highview United Ministries was emergency assistance - helping families in crisis with food, and financial assistance for rent, utilities, transportation and prescriptions. The agency had a part-time Executive Director, and the office was open just 3 days a week, staffed by volunteers. Helping families in crisis is still a primary focus of Fern Creek/Highview United Ministries through our Individual & Family Assistance Center. Through the years our service has grown to meet the expanding needs of the community. The Individual & Family Assistance Center is now open 5 days a week, with a masters level social worker as director as well as a part-time assistance director. We still use lots of volunteers however, in interviewing, staffing our food closet, and working in various programs of the Center.
The number of families coming to us has quadrupled through the years, as our community has grown and the needs have increased. Most of the folks coming to us are working, but an illness, or unexpected emergency has set them back. With huge increases in gas and utility prices, many families are coming for help who have never asked anyone for help before. Many people think of the Fern Creek/Highview communities as affluent or at least middle class areas without need, but you would be surprised at the number of families living right on the edge who have to choose between food and rent, medicine and utilities. Through our Individual & Family Assistance Center, we work with families to help them through their crisis, but also link them up with resources to help them stabilize their situation, and then move toward self sufficiency. While we have some families who will probably always struggle because of health problems and limited income, our goal is to help families move toward a better life as they find additional resources to help them meet their goals to provide for their families.
The Individual & Family Assistance Center also works with other agencies in town to meet families needs.
- We provide vouchers for families to shop at Goodwill when they need clothing or or household items.
- We are a Dare to Care food site, and we receive much of our emergency food supply from Dare to Care.
- We work with the Neighborhood Places and Family Resource Centers to assist families in receiving what they need to meet their needs.
One of the principles of community ministries is that we do not want to duplicate services, but rather fill the gaps in community services in order to improve the lives of the residents who live in Fern Creek and Highview.
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