more photosVolunteers Sharon Madrigal, from left, Juanita Cross and Joan Wayne work with Minister Mike Reeves, of Prineville’s Church of Christ, to organize clothing items at the church. “We do as much as we can (to help the needy),” Reeves said. He’s hoping a new effort to coordinate with other churches will help “find more resources throughout the community.”
Andy Tullis The Bulletin
Coordinated effort
Crook County’s faith-based community is working on ways to make helping those in need a more
By Lauren Dake / The Bulletin
Published: November 02. 2009 4:00AM PSTThe Prineville Church of Christ has a clothing and food bank. The Presbyterian Church has a community garden. And the St. Vincent de Paul Society gives cans away so people can recycle them and use the money for gas cards.
The resources are helpful. But at a time when the need is overwhelming, the Crook County faith-based community is working on a way to improve the system. With help from the Crook County Commission on Children & Families and a $6,000 grant, which will assist with putting on classes and gathering information, from the Partnership to End Poverty, churches in the Crook County area are coming together to coordinate their resources.
The goal is to make what’s available stretch further, to make the system more efficient, to limit duplication and find out what needs nobody is covering.
“The bottom line here is 46 percent of all referrals to social service organizations originate from faith-based communities,” said Scott Cooper, with the Partnership to End Poverty.
“There is a chronic inefficiency in the system. Who is giving out gas cards this week? Who has a food bank? The denominations don’t necessarily work together or talk to each other; they don’t have a reason to,” Cooper said.
Mike Reeves, the minister of the Prineville Church of Christ, said there have been times when he hasn’t been able to help everyone who comes to his church with a need.
And since the Crook County unemployment rate was at 16 percent in September, according to the Oregon Department of Employment, the people knocking on those doors has increased lately.
“We often have more requests for monetary assistance for housing and rent and utilities than we can afford to do,” Reeves said.
“We do as much as we can ... Sometimes there are no resources available. We certainly hope that through the combined effort of different individuals through the community, we’ll find more resources throughout the community,” he said.
After one meeting where several denominations were represented, one of the community’s biggest needs was discussed: the lack of homeless shelters.
“We’re a small church, and we can’t do everything for everyone,” said Cheryl Bourne, pastor of the Prineville Presbyterian Church.
“Knowing I can work with other organizations — ‘you do this and I do that’ and help people in need — that’s my goal. I’m hopeful we can pinpoint some of the areas that aren’t being met, like the homelessness, and as a group we can work on how to resolve that.”
Crook County Commission on Children & Families Executive Director Brenda Comini said she is working on putting together informational classes for the group. She’s pulling information on the homeless count in the area, and the number of students who get free and reduced-price lunches in the schools.
“Ultimately, there could be projects that come out of this that as a group they take on,” Comini said. “They were very concerned about the homeless issues.”
Comini said there is no strict format to the meetings, and she hopes to see the group evolve.
“I think with the resources we have in our community, if there is coordination of those resources, they will go way further and stretch to fit the need. I think in the long run what we’re hoping is that this will help people feel confident about the resources they are giving, and it might encourage them to give a little more ... We want (people) to know what resources are available, and we want to make the people needing them get the most direct route so they aren’t being shuffled all over,” she said.
Lauren Dake can be reached at 541-419-8074 or at ldake@bendbulletin.com.
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