Holy Trinity PATCH

PATCH stands for Parish Assisted Temporary Care and Housing. The Holy Trinity Catholic Church's PATCH provides housing for a homeless family for up to six months. During that time the family puts as much money as they can into a savings account. The plan is for them to have enough for a security deposit and at least a month’s rent for their own place when they leave. PATCH also represents a transi

tion between a previous way of living and a better future. Being involved with the PATCH, whether financially or in person or both, is truly a way to honor Jesus’ command to “feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and shelter the homeless.”

There are no special skills required for helping with PATCH. We are working with New Directions Homeless Shelter who helps us find needy families. They provide all the case management. We do need help in the following areas:

Advocates to the family — two people are usually assigned to each family. The advocate meets with the family twice per month (typically for about one hour per visit) to check in and see how the family is doing. We’re here to help and be their friends. Clean up — our tenants are housed for 6 months. At the end of their lease, HT PATCH committee members typically go into the apartment and clean and restock supplies to get the home ready for the next family. Moving — occasionally we’ll help the tenant move their belongings to their next apartment or home. At these points (typically once every 6 months), we could use help with the lifting and moving. It would be great to have a couple people with pick up trucks or large SUVs available. Financial — the expenses of the PATCH are about $1,000 per month. The PATCH is financed entirely by donations. You can use the blue envelopes in the tithing box. Please check the line that says PATCH. You can also donate directly through ACH automatic withdrawals — just like your tithing. Your contributions are tax deductible. Other groups and individuals sometimes help the PATCH as well. We appreciate and need this extra support. All contributions are used to help the families. There is no overhead whatsoever.