LUM Offers the Homeless More Than a Bed
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A Letter from Joe Micon, LUM Executive Director
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A leper came to him and knelt before him, saying,
“Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”
And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will.”
- Matt 8:2-3
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If Jesus were here today, I think he would perform miracles that involve the homeless. Just as he cleansed the man with leprosy, Jesus would challenge us to act with kindness and compassion toward those in our own time who are hardest to love.
At the
Lafayette Urban Ministry, we have provided
overnight shelter to our homeless guests more than
265,000 times since our
Emergency Shelter first opened in 1984. We know better than most how it is that the homeless end up on the street and the monumental challenges they face in returning to a life of stability.
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Most of our guests struggle with
addiction to
alcohol, or other substances, that prevents them from holding a job and leasing an apartment. They have long ago burned bridges with family and friends. Some guests are afflicted with
addiction, combined with
mental illness. Others have just been released from
prison only to be ostracized by employers. Still others have
physical disabilities and are without the means to care for themselves.
Individuals don’t find themselves guests in the LUM
Emergency Shelter unless the social fabric of their lives has come unwound. But as with the leper, it is those who are hardest to love that Jesus most calls us to serve. Our job at LUM is to perform miracles
— to encourage and support each homeless guest as they confront the challenges that confound them. We show compassion and provide each guest with tangible support.
- We provide a safe, clean and secure overnight shelter for up to 44 guests.
- We provide for our guests addiction treatment videos and resources, addiction group discussions and transportation to detox programs.
- We provide direct financial assistance to help our guests pay for initial housing costs or the costs associated with starting a new job.
- We reunite our guests with the support of family and friends.
- We help individuals cut through the bureaucratic red tape they face trying to re-establish their legal identities. Without a valid picture ID, individuals will never secure housing, employment or public benefits.
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The Lafayette Urban Ministry provides more than just a well-run, safe and secure emergency shelter.
We provide the homeless with the tools they need to leave our shelter. We have helped literally thousands of homeless men and women to make a fresh start.
It is not easy work. And not every story is a success story. But for
35 years, LUM has remained steadfastly committed to helping our homeless neighbors navigate the road to recovery and self-sufficiency. I hope you will join me in supporting this important work with your dollars.
Your gift of $50, $100, $250, $500, or $1,000 will keep the LUM
Emergency Shelter
open to all who come. It will provide our homeless guests with the support they need to leave our shelter for brighter, more independent futures. Most of all, it will be a faithful expression of your concern for those, who like the leper cleansed by Jesus, are counting on us to perform miracles.
Please, may we hear from you today?
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4 Ways You Can Help the LUM Emergency Shelter
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LUM Emergency Shelter Needs You!
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- Make a Monetary DONATION, click HERE
- Sign up to VOLUNTEER, click HERE
- Donate Needed ITEMS, click HERE
- Prepare a MEAL for the shelter guests, click HERE
Overnight Shelter Volunteers are needed 365 nights a year from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. or 8 p.m. to midnight. Duties include check-in, serve dinner, and distribute toiletries. Volunteers must be able to maintain confidentiality, interact with a variety of people, be at least 18 years old, and attend one Shelter Training Session. Training sessions are offered every Monday night at 6:30 p.m. (no need to register for training).
If you’re interested or need more information, click
HERE
— or email or call the LUM shelter director, David Heckert (
dheckert@lumserve.org
| 765-423-2691).
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17 Days to Fight Hunger at Hunger Hike 2019
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Hunger Hike 2019 - Sunday, September 22
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- Sunday, September 22
- Noon – Check-in; 1 p.m. – Kick-off event begins; 2 p.m. – hike starts
- Riehle Plaza, 2nd Street, Lafayette
Here’s several ways YOU can get involved:
- DONATE to Hunger Hike – click HERE
- REGISTER for Hunger Hike and create or join a Hunger Hike Team – click HERE
- Donate to a Hunger Hike TEAM – click HERE
- Donate to a “HIKER” – click HERE
- Use the Collection FORM (PDF) – click HERE
- Texas Roadhouse Restaurant FUNDRAISING Night (Oct. 1) info & coupon – click HERE
- PROMOTE Hunger Hike - print & post a flier or poster – HERE
Hunger Hike is the perfect event for a team or group — church group, student organization, civic group or your family. Put together a Hunger Hike team and start raising money using our
online fundraising site
— or any way you choose. Won't you join us in our Fight against Hunger?
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Business Leaders
—
If you run and/or own a business — you also may become a Hunger Hike Event Sponsor. If interested, email
hungerhike@lumserve.org
for more information. Please support our
2019 Event Sponsors
, to see a list, click
HERE
.
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We're Thinking about "Christmas in September"
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Jubilee Christmas 2019 - Saturday, December 14
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There are only
100 days
until the LUM
Jubilee Christmas
day — Saturday,
December 14
. LUM is thinking about
Christmas in July
—
because it's never too early to begin planning for Jubilee Christmas.
Won't you please consider getting engaged in Jubilee Christmas 2019?
Four Ways
YOU
and your church, family, business and organization can support Jubilee Christmas are as follows:
- HOST Families at your own Jubilee Christmas event, click HERE
- PARTNER with a JC Host Site that is hosting Families, click HERE
- VOLUNTEER - learn more, click HERE
- Register Families (10/21-23) - to sign up, click HERE
- Donation Center (12/2-12) - to sign up, click HERE
- Jubilee Christmas Day (12/14) - to sign up, click HERE
- DONATE - learn more, click HERE
- Host a "Toy Drive" & Donate Items - to view needed items, click HERE
- Make a Monetary Donation, click HERE
Last year on Jubilee Christmas Day,
1,831 children
from
640 families
received gifts of new toys, books, clothing, and food for Christmas Day at
27 different events
. If you need more information or have questions, please go to
lumserve.org/jubilee,
email
jubilee@lumserve.org
or call 765-423-2691. Thanks...and
Merry Christmas!
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Community Forum at Holy Trinity Lutheran
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Topic - The Changing Picture of Health Care
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Holy Trinity Lutheran Church invites you to attend a community forum. Here are the details:
- Saturday, September 14 at 1:30 p.m.
- Speaker: Dr. James Bien, IU Health Arnett
- Topic: The Changing Picture of Health Care in Greater Lafayette
- FREE and open to the public
- Location: Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 1005 N 21st Street, Lafayette, IN
For more information, please go to
htlcweb.org or call 765-447-4205. All are welcome.
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