St. Columba Ecumenical
Ministries, Inc
Mission of St. Columba
To operate an ecumenical
ministry in response to
the Biblical mandate to
minister to persons in
need, whether these
needs are economic,
social or spiritual.
Brief History of St. Columba
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Started as St. Columba Presbyterian Church in
1957.
St. Columba was chosen because of his reputation
as a great healer and teacher.
The church initially focused on helping the lowincome residents of nearby neighborhoods, then
began helping the homeless and needy, thus being
the start of the ministry.
When the church folded in
the 1970’s the ministries
continued.
Brief History of St. Columba
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St. Columba was incorporated as a 501(c)3 in 1987 and the
name was changed to St. Columba Ecumenical Ministries,
Inc.
St. Columba has been instrumental in forming the Dwelling
Place, the Samaritan House and the Virginia Beach Winter
Shelter.
St. Columba operated a drop in
center in Virginia Beach in 1991
and from that came the idea for
the St. Columba Day Center in
Norfolk.
Moved to current location in 1995.
Staff and Volunteers
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Director of Ministries – Alicia Mathews – 2002.
Assistant Director/Bookkeeper – Helmi Ortiz – 1976.
Homeless Advocate – Krystle Pomory - 2009.
Day Center Assistant – David Gungle - 2006.
2 Next Step Case Managers
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Beth Carroll - 2010.
Ike Bingham – 1999.
Governed by a Board of 10 members
About a dozen volunteers
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Day Center volunteers
Newsletter volunteers
Special Events – School Supplies, Thanksgiving and Christmas
volunteers
Next Step
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Two-year transitional housing for homeless single adults.
Provides clients with the opportunity to become selfsufficient.
All clients must be clean from drugs and alcohol, former
residents of Norfolk, and have the ability to live fairly
independently.
Case managers assist clients in overcoming issues that
perpetuate homelessness, including substance abuse,
employment, education, criminal history, physical and mental
health, life skills and basic needs.
Interested individuals should call to schedule an
appointment or be placed on our waiting list if we are full.
Last year 9 clients moved into permanent housing.
Next Step House
Next Step has 4
houses in Norfolk
that serve as home
for 16 formerly
homeless individuals.
Two houses are for
women and two are
for men. This is one
of the men’s houses.
Day Center
Monday - Thursday, 9-2
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Homeless and extremely lowincome clients can meet basic
needs such as showers, coffee,
sandwiches, laundry
Average of 56 clients each day,
but can be over 80
Last fiscal year we:
• Served 1,697 clients
• Provided 2,119 showers
• Gave out 9,632 sandwiches
• Did 584 loads of client laundry
Homeless Advocate
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Available for more individualized needs of Day
Center clients.
Last fiscal year the Homeless Advocate:
• Met with 439 clients.
• Obtained DMV ID cards for 24 individuals.
• Gave steel toe boots to 16 homeless individuals.
• Assisted 156 persons with bus passes.
• Allowed clients to make 1,195 phone calls.
• Provided temporary mailing address for 4
clients.
Clothing Closet
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Clothing Closet is open Mondays, 9-10.
• Mostly men’s clothes as there is a greater
demand.
• Average of 24 clients each Monday.
Last fiscal year we had 1,037 visits to the
clothing closet.
Women’s and children’s clothing is available on
a rack in the Day Center and is first come
first serve.
Clothing Closet
All clothing is obtained through donations
and special collections.
Food Pantry
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Open Monday through Thursday 9 am to 2 pm.
Families and individuals are provided with enough
food for three days.
All clients must have a written referral from their
case manager or social services in order to receive
food.
Clients must be Norfolk residents and are eligible
once every 90 days for emergency food assistance.
We make special purchases when we have specific
needs.
We serve approximately 70 households each month.
Food Pantry
Our food pantry
is stocked
through
donations of
nonperishable
items from
churches and
individuals to
help feed
hungry families.
Financial Assistance
Sometimes families and individuals
encounter a hardship (illness, loss of work,
accident) that has causes their normally
tight budget to be stretched beyond its
means.
Many people are living from paycheck to
paycheck. St. Columba offers financial
assistance for rent and utilities to help
prevent homelessness in our community.
Rental Assistance
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St. Columba Ecumenical Ministries, Inc. applies for
funding from grants each year to provide rental
assistance to families and individuals in Norfolk
and Virginia Beach.
Initial contact must be via phone; we do not take
any applications in our office.
Last fiscal year 12 households were assisted.
Utility Assistance
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We provide partial utility assistance to residents
in Norfolk and Virginia Beach.
We can only help with power and water bills.
Assistance is based on information gathered
through a phone application when we have funds
available.
We require that the utility be in immediate
threat of disconnection.
Once per lifetime due to extremely limited funds
and an increased demand for the service.
We have helped 80 households this fiscal year.
Prescription Assistance
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Specifically for homeless persons in
Norfolk.
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Cannot fill narcotics or psychotropic drugs.
Cannot have other medical assistance.
Intended to fill a gap while other resources
are obtained.
Last year we filled 689 prescriptions for 262
clients.
Special Programs
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Easter – St. Columba receives prepared Easter
Baskets donated from churches each year. We
helped approximately 121 children this
Easter.
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School Supplies – School supplies are collected
by churches and individuals during the summer.
Parents can stop by the first week of school
with the lists of supplies. Staff and volunteers
collect supplies for them as available. We
helped 238 students last year.
School Supplies
School
supplies are
provided to
hundreds of
kids through
donations
and hours of
volunteer
work each
year.
Special Programs
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Thanksgiving – We provide families with all the
staple items for a traditional Thanksgiving meal.
Items are received through donations and special
purchases. Volunteers and staff work out of
Lafayette Presbyterian Church the week of
Thanksgiving to sort, pack and distribute
approximately 125 baskets.
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Christmas – Christmas food baskets are similar to
Thanksgiving and we provide gifts received through
an angel tree program with local churches. Last
year we provided 50 families with food and gifts to
make the holidays a little warmer.
Thanksgiving
St. Columba’s
Thanksgiving
ministry is not
possible
without the
support of
volunteers
from our
community.
Funding
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St. Columba is funded through federal, local and
foundation grants and donations from churches,
businesses and individuals.
Supportive Housing Program – Next Step
Community Development Block Grant – Next Step
match and Homeless Advocate/Day Center Assistant
Emergency Shelter Grant – Day Center
Human Services Grant – Prescription Program
Emergency Food and Shelter Program – Rental
Assistance
Undesignated donations – Utility Assistance
Match Funds
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Our grants require anywhere from a 1:5 match
(for every 5 dollars of government money, we
have to come up with 1 dollar) to a 1:1 match
(for every dollar of grant money we have to
match with 1 dollar).
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While a majority of the match can be done
through actual dollars, we are also permitted
by some funding sources to use in-kind
donations.
In-Kind Donations
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Sandwiches that are donated for our Day
Center are valued at a dollar each and these
count towards our match requirement.
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Things such as food, clothes, and household
items are assigned a value and also counted
towards our match for our Next Step program.
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When in-kind donations are received, they are
not only going directly to help those in need,
they are also helping us meet our match and
satisfy our grant agreement.
We need you!
St. Columba is a small ministry, but we
reach many people. The idea is to
welcome all persons, in whatever state
they find themselves and to help when
permitted.
We depend on the support of our
community to continue to provide to
those who come to us in need.
How Can You Help?
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Our current, urgent needs include razors, travel
size lotion and toothpaste, washcloths, bottled
water, and men’s jeans.
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Make sandwiches for our Day Center.
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Create snack for the Day Center.
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Create hygiene kits including hotel/sample size of
some of the following: Shampoo, soap, toothbrush,
toothpaste, razors, washcloth, comb etc.
How Can You Help?
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Volunteer either in the Day Center or for a
special event (information about volunteer
opportunities can be found on our website or by
calling Alicia).
Become a Board member. Meetings are the first
Monday of each month. Contact Alicia for more
information.
Make a financial contribution – all of our grants
require match funds and are becoming more
competitive requiring us to seek financial support
outside the regular funding streams.
Sandwiches
We depend on
sandwiches made
by various groups
in our community
to provide food to
the clients in our
Day Center.
Sandwiches
Groups of all
ages can help
the homeless –
here the
Director makes
sandwiches with
a preschool
class.
Questions
Questions???
Questions???
Thank You!!!
Contact Information
St. Columba Ecumenical Ministries, Inc.
2114 Lafayette Blvd., Norfolk, VA 23509
office: 627-6748 fax: 622-2569
On the web: www.stcolumbaministries.com
Email: admin@stcolumba.hrcoxmail.com