Community Organizing
Community Organizing, Affordable Housing & Homelessness
Congregation-based community organizing coalitions (CBCOs) take a grassroots organizing approach for rebuilding and revitalizing congregations and developing individuals into effective leaders and change agents. CBCOs shape and are shaped by the neighborhoods and cities they inhabit. Tackling pressing issues such as housing insecurity and other systemic injustices, CBCOs provide a vehicle for churches, schools, unions, and nonprofit organizations to carry their concerns and values into public life, to create policies and access funds to improve their communities.
There are over 180 CBCOs across the country. These coalitions around the U.S. have established a track record of highly successful campaigns and leveraged billions of dollars. PHP provides approximately $100,000 in annual grants to CBCOs, making it one of the top funders of CBCOs in the nation. PHP believes congregation-based community organizing is a powerful avenue for congregations, communities, and other entities to collectively address systemic challenges for social change.
Congregation-Based Community Organizing & Affordable Housing
CBCO is a grassroots organizing approach for rebuilding communities, revitalizing congregations, and developing individuals into effective leaders and change agents. CBCOs provide a vehicle for churches, schools, unions, and nonprofit organizations to carry their concerns and values into public life, as they create policy and access funds to improve their communities. These coalitions around the country have established a track record of highly successful campaigns and leveraged billions of dollars. The Presbyterian Hunger Program supports CBCOs during their start-up phase or in their ongoing efforts particularly to address affordable housing. Presbyterian congregations and leaders in community participate in CBCOs, and our denomination is one of the top funders of CBCOs in the nation.
Homelessness
Many Presbyterian congregations run homelessness ministries or provide volunteers and funding for nearby shelters. Spurred by the biblical call to house people experiencing homelessness and the church’s strong social witness policy on the issue, the PC(USA) has worked to address homelessness through support for shelters, transitional housing, social service programs and the provision of — and advocacy around — affordable housing.
Hunger and Homelessness Sunday is part of Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, recognized in November by the PC(USA) and others across the United States. During this season of gratitude, we challenge you to raise up the crisis of homelessness during worship.
