Over 40 individuals and 6 represented congregations attended the Homeless Assistance Training (HAT) on February 20th at the Long Beach Rescue Mission. Among those in attendance was also a Jordan psychology teacher, Mr. Lindholm, and his students. They were reading The Soloist and were studying on homelessness in their class. Mr. Lindholm shared "My students who attended were made aware of the services that are being offered to the homeless. They also gave some money to some of the peple at the shelter. The one idea that we have discussed in class is the need to develop relationships with people that don't have the resouces that we may have. Pulling together in tough times will help all of us." Other groups like The Garden Church, learned of ways to be involved in homelessness at a broader city level. Joel Roberts and Elsa Ramos shared about Long Beach Connection in which they are housing individuals in Long Beach. They asked the faith-based community to come along side these individuals and help make their houses into homes by providing furniture and household items. Jennifer Lee also shared about three new homes Habitat for Humanity is building in Long Beach. There continues to be great resources in Long Beach for the Church to come along side with and support including the Rescue Mission, Precious Lamb, the Village, COA, and Inner City Ministries.
We are thankful for those who attended and for the panel of experts showing us how to really love our homeless neighbors. My favorite part of the training was when they role played a homeless individual and a case manager and had an audience member practice their case management skills. They gave practical questions to ask and also typical responses of homeless individuals and what things mean. I am so thankful that there is a group of professionals willing to take time to train me and others in what they do. I encourage you to take advantage of this group and HAT!
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