measured steps towards expanding our services while keeping our emergency services in place. In the near future, we hope to build our capacity for growth further by: (1) building office space at the shelter so our case managers can meet with clients on site, (2) increasing collaborations with specialized service providers, and (3) starting a track system so that those who are motivated to end their homelessness are given incentives to do so.
The difficulty, though, is that its not always easy to get from where we were to where we’d like to be. In 2001, our budget was $693,100. Our budget for 2002, with the limited service expansions we’ve already put in place, is $828,757. Unfortunately, our goal of seeing an increase in donations and grants by this time of year has not been as easy to achieve as we had hoped. As a result, we have borrowed on our line of credit and used our remaining reserves.
As an emergency measure, we’ve instituted a hiring freeze. We will not
immediately replace three staff members who are leaving this summer. One of
those staff members is Brother Don, the assistant manager at our soup
kitchen. He has been transferred by his order to a new ministry. The ot
her
persons who are leaving and can’t be replaced right away are the Supervisor
of the Women’s Dorm (Jeanna) and one of our case managers (Anne) who’s going
back to school.
Without a supervisor who can work in the soup kitchen on the weekends, we can’t provide safety and leadership for our volunteers. Because of this we have temporarily suspended the dinner service at the soup kitchen on Saturdays and Sundays. The effect on our guests is not good, but its better than closing one of our programs completely.
Sometimes, in living out the Franciscan gift of poverty, Franciscan Outreach Association gets a little too close to the edge. Its at times like these that we find ourselves begging like St. Francis did - asking good people to share their resources with the poor for the love of God. Please be as generous as you can to this Summer Appeal. With your help, we can reinstate the dinner service on the weekends and continue to work towards ending homelessness for good.
Sincerely,
Fr. Larry Janezic, OFM
Executive Director