2011 Journal Volume - Interactive - High Resolution for Printing

2011 Wisconsin Conference Journaldecision to insure that as we confront issues of poverty and homelessness we are alsodirectly in ministry with families for whom mental illness is a major factor.UMCS is building 14 more townhome units and a ten unit apartment building to becompleted in 2012. Five of these units will also be designated for families referredthrough Milwaukee County Behavioral Health.The family resource center is operating in its new and permanent location on the firstfloor of the Washington Park Apartment building. The food pantry is open threeafternoons per week. When specialized food resources are available the pantry alsooperates an extra day specifically for families of Asian descent. The clothing andhousehold items program is open on Thursdays. Families also have the opportunity toobtain these resources when they visit during food pantry hours. UMCS continues todistribute United States Department of Agriculture commodities to income eligible seniorcitizens, post-partum women, and children in the first year after they age out of theWomen Infants and Children (WIC) program. In the family resource center UMCSserved over 50,000 people in 2010.Enrollment is up in the Growing Tree Children’s Center as the city and state crack downon and close disreputable daycare programs in our neighborhood. The dedicated staff ofteachers continues to offer a stimulating and loving environment for babies to pre-teens.UMCS is increasingly involved in the efforts of our neighborhood partners to create asustainable community. As the convening organization for the Washington Park Partners(WPP) UMCS has led an effort to identify the priorities for the residents, businesses andorganizations in the neighborhood and develop strategies to meet those priorities.Financial realityWith the cuts in apportionment support over the last four years along with drops inindividual donor giving during a difficult economic period our yearly revenue is down$100,000. While it sounds noble to be doing more with less, the reality is that we haveonly one social worker when we critically need two. Many of the residents and neighborswith whom we are in ministry need more intense social service support that can bestretched over one social workers time. We do not have adequate janitorial ormaintenance staff to meet the needs of our growing facilities. While one sympatheticsupporter suggested that we might need to cut back our level of care to adjust to thecurrent economic reality, we know that the only way to be faithful in the ministry towhich we are called is to seek new revenue streams while calling upon our historic sourceof support, The United Methodist Church and individual United Methodists, to findcreative new ways to give generously through apportionment and direct giving.Cindy Thompson, Development DirectorReports of Boards, Committees and Agencies 261