by Susan Dowd, Outreach Committee member
St. Stephen’s Outreach Committee was pleased to welcome a NEW community partner, the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery (GMCN) in 2021. For 37 years, the Crisis Nursery has been working to end child abuse and neglect and create strong, healthy families.
It does this by providing free, voluntary services every day of the year to families in crisis with young children. They offer a 24-hour crisis hotline and counseling, education and connections to community resources, clinical home visits, and a mental health program. The Crisis Nursery also provides overnight care for young children, newborns through age 6, while parents address their crisis situations. Single parents make up 93% of Crisis Nursery users; 34% are experiencing homelessness; 33% report experiencing domestic violence. Approximately 94% of clients are people of color or identify as Native or Hispanic, and 75% have annual incomes less than $10,000.
In August of 2021, the Outreach Committee approved a grant of $10,000 to the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery. This mission of GMCN is a great fit with one of our Outreach Committee Focus Areas for allocating grants: Youth. The committee’s other Focus Areas are Hunger, Homelessness, and Seniors.
Each year, the amount of Outreach dollars available for awarding grants and supporting our outreach ministries is dependent on the funds raised at our annual fundraiser, the Bash After Dark, which is held each fall. ALL funds raised by the BASH are used for community outreach and these funds are the primary source of outreach funding.
In addition to grant support, the Crisis Nursery is excited to explore hands-on volunteer opportunities with St. Stephen’s community to support the children and families in a variety of ways. This includes helping with childcare,
special events, office work, and with the Nursery’s Cook for Kids Program, preparing meals for children (or sponsoring meals for children until it is safe to have teams back in their building.) The Outreach Committee is eager to find opportunities that fit our parish’s resources and our members’ time and interests. Watch St. Stephen’s communication for future opportunities to serve with GMCN.
St. Stephen’s parishioner Lisa Taylor is a Founding member of the Crisis Nursery and a Board of Directors Emeritus Member. She is still actively engaged in assisting the organization. The reason for this, Lisa says, is
“As a parent, I always had a strong support network, yet many young families lack that support. The Nursery provides nonjudgmental, caring guidance and support for these often isolated and impoverished families in their times of crisis.”
To learn more about the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery, visit their website.
