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. Presbyterian congregations and community leaders together tackle 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 have leveraged billions of dollars. PHP provides approximately $100,000 in annual grants to CBCOs, making our denomination one of the top funders of CBCOs in the nation. Support is offered to groups during their start-up phase or in their ongoing efforts to address affordable housing.
PHP believes congregation-based community organizing is a powerful avenue for congregations, communities, and other entities to collectively address systemic challenges for social change.
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.
