St Francis Seraph Ministries

Dining room: individuals who are homeless and others in need are provided breakfast and dinner five days a week while finding refuge in a safe, hospitable, and respectful environment. Staff refer interested guests to housing and other services where appropriate. During the fiscal year, more than 43,000 hot meals were provided and 2,355 meals were provided to the center for respite care residents. Greater cincinnati behavioral health services provides onsite counseling and placement services to assist our program guests to receive treatment for chemical dependency and mental health. This collaboration has resulted in many benefits for guests, including the acquisition of needed medical services and job placement; over 75 guests were placed in permanent housing.

Sarah center is an empowerment center encouraging participants to develop strengths and talents in order to build positive lives for themselves, their families, and the community. 'stitched' classes teach sewing skills and almost half of graduating students have either been hired for sewing positions or started their own business as a result. Programming also includes quilting and jewelry classes, health and wellness activities, empowerment experiences, entrepreneurial education and the sale of participants' hand-made products as a source of income and self-affirmation.

Foot care for the souls is staffed by trained volunteers. It provides foot care, and socks and shoes to homeless individuals. Individuals living unsheltered can develop serious foot problems from the cold, wet footwear, and difficulty maintaining foot hygiene. This is also a means to connect and engage with individuals one-to-one, to help disrupt their isolation and connect with other services they may need to successfully transition to shelter and a home. 384 individuals were treated during the fiscal year.

Cooking for the family program: a 5-week basic cooking class which teaches families nutrition, affordable meal planning, and cooking skills using locally sourced foods. Also, this program encourages and shares the benefits of sitting down together for a daily dinner time. Classes are conducted either onsite or at a community partner's location. During the pandemic, some classes were held virtually. In some cases, graduation from these classes has been a requirement of another agency in order to be placed in that agency's housing.

Bag lunch ministry: bag lunches are distributed in collaboration with recovery and youth programs and to guests in the dining room. During the fiscal year, over 39,000 bag lunches were distributed, to individuals in hotels and shelters. A bag lunch is food for the day for some and, for others in poverty, a portable meal so their limited income can be used more effectively for other basic needs.

Other assisstance efforts: the Ministries provides $40,000 in annual scholarships for several students attending St. Francis Seraph school. Occasionally, the Ministries provides emergency assistance for individuals or families who have no other recourse.