Proposed Agenda
I. Open prayer
II. Faith Sharing/Devotional- Sharing of God’s Word (10 min)
III. Rounds
Share a joy or concern or reflection on the biblical devotion
IV. Committees Report/Updates
- 501 ( c) (3)
- Lazarus Village Project (LVP)
- Review and assess the Campaign goals
- Education
- Homeless Bus Tour
- Research the bus routes to both shelters.
- Secure buses
- Establish a time line
- Organizing Homeless persons
- Grants
- Field trip
PCUSA Homeless Network- Presbyterians to End Homeless Network
- Date: March 1-2, 2003
- Loc: Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago
V. Correspondences
IV. Teaching/Strategy session
V. Discussion
VI. Summary/Next steps
VIII. Closing Prayer
BCON’s Homeless issues Update
Homelessness
Establish The Lazarus Caucus Inc, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit tax-exempt organization to assist the homeless and formerly homeless become functioning, employed, and ultimately permanent residents of the state of Maryland, in particular Baltimore County. This organization would be the platform and a voice for the homeless. It will seek to establish the Lazarus Village project The Lazarus Village Project (LVP) will be a village for 100 homeless persons with an emergency, transitional and permanent housing with centralize support services. The village type living concept will contain facilities for medical services and housing along with such resources as legal assistance, child support recovery and an employment agency. Other features would include a drop in center for skill building and fellowship, a Laundromat and a miniature diner open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The LVP will be designed to mitigate and decrease the circumstances that cause homelessness. The LVP will service the episodic and chronically homeless people and will be situated on a site in Baltimore County. This village will stand as a model. What are the project goals and objectives?
Goal 1: Organize a Lazarus Site Search Committee
Objective 1: Identify and recruit interested citizens from the private, public and civic- non-profit sectors to serve on the committee.
Objective 2: Conduct strategy meetings with private, public and civic sector leaders to Identify potential sites. The committee will be looking for 2-4 acres of land.
Goal 2: Organize a leadership caucus of homeless persons, citizens, service providers, and funders and public policy makers.
Objective 1: Make personal contact with homeless person at places where they go for services.
Objective 2: Conduct face-to-face meetings with homeless persons to learn about their interests, concerns, and causes of their plight.
Objective 3: Identify, recruit, and train homeless persons and others in leadership skills.
Objective 4: Bring together homeless persons, citizens, service providers, funders and public policy makers and others into partnership with BCON and share with each other their programs strategies and resources toward ending homelessness and respond collectively to eliminate root causes of homelessness and be the beacon for justice in unjust situations.
Goal 3: Launch an educational and awareness campaign on homelessness in Baltimore County.
Objective 1: To support, nurture, motivate, educate, train and challenge Baltimore County citizens, in particular Houses of Worship, to respond to God’s call to End homelessness with their human and material resources for thousands of men, woman and children who are hurting and suffering in homelessness.
Objective 1: Meet with different community groups/associations to impart information about homelessness and educate community leaders on the issues of homelessness.
Objective 2: Organize a bus tour of the existing homeless services in Baltimore County.
Goal 4: Conducting a Lazarus Village Project feasibility study
Objective1: Identify a resource(s) to research and produce a feasibility study that supports the need and development of The Lazarus Village Project. which will to provide emergency, transitional, and permanent housing, and centralized, essential services for as many homeless/displaced men, women, and adults with children in Baltimore County.
List the institutional change objectives.
The Lazarus Caucus is working to organize homeless population, civic sector and private to influence the public sector to 1) provide a permanent site for the cold weather shelter for the Westside of the county, 2) extend shelter operation hours to year round, 3) and to establish a Lazarus Village on the Westside of Baltimore County. The Lazarus caucus proposes the establishment of. The Lazarus Village Project (LVP). The LVP will be designed to mitigate and decrease the circumstances that cause homelessness. The goal is to coordinate health care, housing and jobs for 100 people. This temporary, transitional and permanent housing and services for episodic and chronically homeless people will be situated on a site in Baltimore County yet to be determined which would include space for a permanent cold weather shelter. The village type living concept will contain facilities for medical services and housing along with such resources as legal assistance, child support recovery and an employment agency. Other features include a drop in center for skill building and fellowship, a Laundromat and a miniature diner open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This village will stand as a model for other transitional housing for the 5 sectors in the County.
Strategy:
Organize allies from the business, government and civic sectors. Build a coalition institutions and individuals who will support locating the Westside Cold Weather shelter and the Lazarus Village. The group’s short-term goal is to identify a site in the Southwest sector of Baltimore County, in particular Spring Grove. Long-term goal is to obtain site control of 2 acres of land to be the home for the Lazarus Village Project. There will be three phases to accomplishing the goal. Phase 1 will be focus on issue organizing, phase two will focus on pre-development (feasibility study) and phase three will focus on development.
Phase I - Organizing
Goals:
Our goal will be to organize for:
1) Securing a permanent site for the Westside Cold/Freezing Weather Shelter, 2) Launch an educational and awareness campaign on Homeless in Baltimore County, 3) Organize a homeless leadership caucus of the homeless persons, faith community and other civic sector leaders who will advocate, develop and lead the implementation of the Children of Lazarus project. 4) Raise $30,000 for operational funds to assist the staff in building civic capacity, leadership development among the homeless, research regulator concerns, infrastructure development and to provide training and education to community residents and organizations.
B. List the objectives for developing the organization.
Goal 1: Organize a Lazarus Site Search Committee
Objective 1: Identify and recruit interested citizens from the private, public and civic-Non-profit sectors to serve on the committee.
Objective 2: Conduct strategy meetings with private, public and civic sector leaders to identify potential sites. The committee will be looking for 2 acres of land.
Goal 2:
Organize a leadership caucus of homeless persons, citizens, and Service Providers, funders and public policy makers.
Objective 1: Make personal contact with homeless person at places where they go for Services.
Objective 2: Conduct face-to-face meetings with homeless persons to learn about there interests, concerns, and causes of their plight.
Objective 3: Identify, recruit, and train homeless persons in leadership skills.
Goal 3:
Launch an educational and awareness campaign on Homelessness in Baltimore County.
Objective 1: Meet with different community groups/associations to impart Information about homelessness and educate community leaders on the issues of homelessness.
Objective 2: Organize a bus tour of the existing homeless services in Baltimore County.
Goal 4:
Raise $ 50,000 for operational funds to assist the Lazarus Caucus Staff in building civic capacity and leadership development among the homeless and community leaders. The Lazarus Caucus is seeking funding to 1) expand community organizing and leadership development to empower homeless men, women and advocates to create institutional change and encourage civic participation and advocacy on issues that impact their lives. 2) Conducting a feasibility study to explore development of The Lazarus Village Project to provide emergency, transitional, and permanent housing, and centralized, essential services for as many homeless/displaced men, women, and adults with children in Baltimore County.
Objective 1: Send letters of Inquiry to 100 funders, foundations and Corporations, who List homelessness as an area of interest.
Objective 2: Raise a part of Lazarus operational budget dues paying Institutional Partners who share full responsibility for the project through decision-making, funding, and program design and oversight.
Objective 3: Rise of the Lazarus operational budget from National and Local Judicatory grants and foundations.
Objective 4: Raise % of the Lazarus Caucus operational budget from Program partners who contribute resources on a continuing basis to the project.
