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2019 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 895
Commending Community of Faith Mission.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 18, 2019
Agreed to by the Senate, February 23, 2019

 

WHEREAS, the Community of Faith Mission is a faith-based program that provides emergency shelter and food from November through March for men, women, and families who are homeless in the greater Williamsburg area; and

WHEREAS, the Community of Faith Mission was established in August 2012 to address a dire need to provide assistance for homeless individuals; the shelter program was conceived by founders Kathy Banfield and Renee Collins through the homeless ministry at Saint Bede Catholic Church; and

WHEREAS, the faith community quickly came together to support Community of Faith Mission; in November 2012 the Mission successfully launched its first season of winter emergency shelter, offering 12 weeks of accommodations to meet the needs of individuals and families who are homeless in the greater Williamsburg area; and

WHEREAS, in 2013, the Community of Faith Mission became governed by a board of directors consisting of a diverse group of individuals from the faith community and other community professionals and expanded the number of weeks of services offered to 18; in 2015, the organization implemented more comprehensive and standardized shelter services; and

WHEREAS, today the Community of Faith Mission has the support of many county and city officials, community partners, and individuals to provide three meals a day and 126 nights of safe shelter to homeless individuals during the coldest months of the year; and

WHEREAS, the Community of Faith Mission’s shelter rotates weekly to a different host location, where guests meet with caring volunteers and staff who collaborate with other community resource providers to make referrals for medical care, transitional housing, and other social services; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Community of Faith Mission, a faith-based program that provides emergency shelter and food for men, women, and families who are homeless in the greater Williamsburg area; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Community of Faith Mission as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for the shelter’s caring and benevolent work in the Williamsburg community.