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How Christians and their churches can help the homeless
Church in the Community - Media Release in the Herald: 24th February 2025
Source: TCN / Ronny Naude
Date Added: 2025-02-24
Category: General News, TCN News, Issues - General, Issues - Social upliftment,
Date Added: 2025-02-24
Category: General News, TCN News, Issues - General, Issues - Social upliftment,
Isaiah 58:7 tells us to "Share your food with the hungry and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help."
Matthew 25:35 says "For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home."
These and many other verses in the Bible challenge Christians as we drive through the city and see the homeless camped out on street corners and sleeping in alcoves.
I have been there.
If somebody did not take the time to reach out to me in kindness, I would not be writing this column.
Instead, I would be dead, in prison or still lost on the street.
Most Christians do not have the resources to invite strangers to stay in their homes indefinitely, and no one wants to subject their families, themselves and their neighbours to the potential risks.
We also know that there is more to helping people to reintegrate into society than providing a bed, shower and food.
There is a solution. Organisations such as MES (Mould Empower Serve) provide a place of hope for vagrants, the displaced, impoverished, addicts, and elderly.
MES is a registered not-for-profit company (NPC) that has been changing the hearts of the inner cities of Johannesburg, Cape Town, Gqeberha and Kempton Park since 1986.
We focus on five core target groups: preschoolers, learners, school-leaving youth, youth and adults at risk, and families at risk.
MES day-service centres such as the one in Schauderville serve as the first point of contact with the homeless community and these groups.
The shelters provide short- to medium-term accommodation to the beneficiaries of our programmes.
They are assessed and supported through the programme to overcome mental health or addiction issues. Work programmes and training evaluate beneficiaries’ work readiness for a sustainable exit.
MES also supports families at risk by providing provide food relief, social support, guidance on parenthood, marriage workshops and family reunifications.
As an organisation, we are a group of people who feel we are called to reach out to those who are less fortunate than we are, or have gotten themselves into a heap of hardship.
We address the challenges through a four-phase model.
Phase 1 is social relief and outreach which sees to physical needs such as food, shelter and hygiene.
Beneficiaries are evaluated to establish what assistance will be of most help going forward.
This takes them to Phase 2, which is readiness to change. We help beneficiaries to believe that they can change, and provide the mental and psychosocial support required.
Empowered by this change in attitude, Phase 3 provides development and educational programmes to equip work seekers and youngsters to return to the workplace or classroom.
The final phase is reintegration, where beneficiaries exit the programme to sustainably contribute positively to their communities and families.
To do this, we meet people where they are at and provide them with pathways out of homelessness, addiction, poverty, and being uneducated.
We run preschools, drop in facilities, safe spaces, shelters, work readiness programs, recovery programs, and job rehabilitation programmes.
Support for our work in Nelson Mandela Bay is provided by five churches. There is room for more.
We are a Christian founded and based organisation. Matthew 25:35-37, Psalm 68:5-10, Psalm 107 are but a few references in scripture that encourage us to reach out as our God and Saviour did to the lost and broken.
We have proven that it is important for there to be a spiritual element to the support provided.
The problems we face, although they manifests themselves physically in many ways, are ultimately spiritual.
This world we live in is a broken and dark place because we do not acknowledge our Creator.
Romans 1:18-32 lays this out clearly. Unless our hearts are turned back to God, we will not have peace whether we live in poverty or in wealth.
We are called to live God-fearing lives regardless of our circumstances.
These are some of the ways you can support the work of MES.
To reach more people, we need more Drop in and Safe Space facilities in various parts of the city.
Churches and property owners who have space in their buildings can make a difference by making their facilities available.
We also need more businesses to get involved in our work readiness programmes.
The opportunities need not be in the business. Companies around St George’s Park, for example, paid for MES teams to clean it up and make it safe again.
We also need occupational therapists and other medical professionals to donate some time to help us as we create pathways of change for the clients.
Teachers are required for our study programmes.
Many other skills are needed. To find out how you can make a difference please go to our website and see what programmes you would like to get involved in.
And, of course, we can always use donations in the form of money, food, bedding, toiletries, clothing and more.
But, please do not give to the people knocking on your door or on the street corner. You are just supporting a self-destructive lifestyle.
Instead, support a charity like MES which sells books of vouchers to pay for a meal, bed and shower.
Beneficiaries are also given the opportunity to enter one of the MES programmes.
Ronny Naude
MES Gqeberha Branch Manager
Matthew 25:35 says "For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home."
These and many other verses in the Bible challenge Christians as we drive through the city and see the homeless camped out on street corners and sleeping in alcoves.
I have been there.
If somebody did not take the time to reach out to me in kindness, I would not be writing this column.
Instead, I would be dead, in prison or still lost on the street.
Most Christians do not have the resources to invite strangers to stay in their homes indefinitely, and no one wants to subject their families, themselves and their neighbours to the potential risks.
We also know that there is more to helping people to reintegrate into society than providing a bed, shower and food.
There is a solution. Organisations such as MES (Mould Empower Serve) provide a place of hope for vagrants, the displaced, impoverished, addicts, and elderly.
MES is a registered not-for-profit company (NPC) that has been changing the hearts of the inner cities of Johannesburg, Cape Town, Gqeberha and Kempton Park since 1986.
We focus on five core target groups: preschoolers, learners, school-leaving youth, youth and adults at risk, and families at risk.
MES day-service centres such as the one in Schauderville serve as the first point of contact with the homeless community and these groups.
The shelters provide short- to medium-term accommodation to the beneficiaries of our programmes.
They are assessed and supported through the programme to overcome mental health or addiction issues. Work programmes and training evaluate beneficiaries’ work readiness for a sustainable exit.
MES also supports families at risk by providing provide food relief, social support, guidance on parenthood, marriage workshops and family reunifications.
As an organisation, we are a group of people who feel we are called to reach out to those who are less fortunate than we are, or have gotten themselves into a heap of hardship.
We address the challenges through a four-phase model.
Phase 1 is social relief and outreach which sees to physical needs such as food, shelter and hygiene.
Beneficiaries are evaluated to establish what assistance will be of most help going forward.
This takes them to Phase 2, which is readiness to change. We help beneficiaries to believe that they can change, and provide the mental and psychosocial support required.
Empowered by this change in attitude, Phase 3 provides development and educational programmes to equip work seekers and youngsters to return to the workplace or classroom.
The final phase is reintegration, where beneficiaries exit the programme to sustainably contribute positively to their communities and families.
To do this, we meet people where they are at and provide them with pathways out of homelessness, addiction, poverty, and being uneducated.
We run preschools, drop in facilities, safe spaces, shelters, work readiness programs, recovery programs, and job rehabilitation programmes.
Support for our work in Nelson Mandela Bay is provided by five churches. There is room for more.
We are a Christian founded and based organisation. Matthew 25:35-37, Psalm 68:5-10, Psalm 107 are but a few references in scripture that encourage us to reach out as our God and Saviour did to the lost and broken.
We have proven that it is important for there to be a spiritual element to the support provided.
The problems we face, although they manifests themselves physically in many ways, are ultimately spiritual.
This world we live in is a broken and dark place because we do not acknowledge our Creator.
Romans 1:18-32 lays this out clearly. Unless our hearts are turned back to God, we will not have peace whether we live in poverty or in wealth.
We are called to live God-fearing lives regardless of our circumstances.
These are some of the ways you can support the work of MES.
To reach more people, we need more Drop in and Safe Space facilities in various parts of the city.
Churches and property owners who have space in their buildings can make a difference by making their facilities available.
We also need more businesses to get involved in our work readiness programmes.
The opportunities need not be in the business. Companies around St George’s Park, for example, paid for MES teams to clean it up and make it safe again.
We also need occupational therapists and other medical professionals to donate some time to help us as we create pathways of change for the clients.
Teachers are required for our study programmes.
Many other skills are needed. To find out how you can make a difference please go to our website and see what programmes you would like to get involved in.
And, of course, we can always use donations in the form of money, food, bedding, toiletries, clothing and more.
But, please do not give to the people knocking on your door or on the street corner. You are just supporting a self-destructive lifestyle.
Instead, support a charity like MES which sells books of vouchers to pay for a meal, bed and shower.
Beneficiaries are also given the opportunity to enter one of the MES programmes.
Ronny Naude
MES Gqeberha Branch Manager
Source: TCN / Ronny Naude
Date Added: 2025-02-24
Category: General News, TCN News, Issues - General, Issues - Social upliftment,
Back to News IndexDate Added: 2025-02-24
Category: General News, TCN News, Issues - General, Issues - Social upliftment,
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