Many people in the community reside in their own homes or apartments but live just one or two paychecks from homelessness. It is Water Street Mission’s desire to help meet basic needs while building relationships that may allow us to provide help in deeper ways.
Grocery Assistance
Outreach Ministries offers two, weekly food distributions and two weekly bread/pastry distributions for people living in the community. Food varies based on what has been donated but may consist of fresh fruits and vegetables, bread, pastries, or canned foods. To learn more about receiving food, click here.
Holiday Food Boxes
In partnership with local churches, Water Street Mission distributes over 2,500 Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas food boxes each year. Recipients pre-register for these food boxes and receive different amounts of food based on the number of individuals living in their household. Local churches are a crucial link in the holiday food distributions, as they have the capacity to build individual relationships with those receiving food.
Clothing and Furniture Assistance
Often men, women and children come to the Water Street Mission with nothing more than the clothing they are wearing. It is at these times that we provide clothing assistance. When a client successfully moves into his/her own apartment, a client may request furniture assistance to help furnish their new home.
Through volunteer support and management, the Mission also provides clothing and furniture at no cost to community members who are referred by a church or social service agency. The goal is to meet basic needs while developing relationships that may lead to further opportunities.
We developed the Clothing and Furniture Assistance programs after the closing of the Lancaster Thrift Store in December 2005. This change allowed Water Street Ministries to deepen the effectiveness of our service to the homeless by expanding ministries like the the Mission's Learning and Career Center and Water Street Health Services while still providing items to people in need.
It's All Provided Through Donations
Each of these ministries is made possible through the faithful donations of individuals, churches, businesses, etc. We welcome your partnership! For a list of most needed food items,
click here. Gently used clothing and furniture donations are gratefully accepted at the
Collection Center.
Partnerships
If your church or social service agency is interested in partnering with the Water Street Mission as a referring agency or as a host church for Holiday Food Distributions, please contact us at (717) 358-2081 or email Mission@WaterStreetMinistries.org.
To learn more about the impact of the Water Street Mission, click on the links at the left.