“We have looked into the eyes of the homeless children, the most vulnerable in our community, and we have seen the hope that’s there.” – Rev. Cindy Parker
Witness for Justice, a group concerned with social responsibility at The Church of The Red Rocks, has been granted $300,000 for support of homelessness initiatives. Click HERE to read the story in the Red Rock News.
The Witness for Justice Committee has been working hard to understand issues of homelessness in the Verde Valley. One of their discoveries was that, as of December 1, there were 27 homeless students from 18 families in the Sedona – Oak Creek School District. We also learned that the City of Sedona was accepting applications for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
With approval from the Church Council, the Witness for Justice Committee submitted an application to provide overnight housing for the most vulnerable of Sedona’s homeless – families with children and, if space is available, single elderly women.
The application states that the funds would be used to acquire a property in Sedona and make it suitable for overnight housing. Depending on available properties, this could be an existing building that would be renovated or a parcel of land upon which we would put a modular home, trailer or tiny homes.
To support our application, we created an advisory board including representatives from the school district, Catholic Charities, Old Town Mission, Verde Valley Homeless Coalition, Angie’s House, and Flagstaff Shelter Services, as well as several individuals. Additionally, Manzanita Outreach has agreed to provide any food that is necessary to support our project.
Following a lengthy meeting on January 22, the Sedona City Council voted to award the grant to The Church of The Red Rocks! After administrative fees are deducted, the grant will be worth approximately $300,000!
The Witness for Justice Committee realizes that the successful implementation of our proposal will require the support of the entire Community. To that end, we will strive to create a collaborative partnership with other churches and organizations within Sedona for both program and financial support.