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Outreach
For more information or to volunteer your time and talents for Saint Matthew's Outreach Ministries, please contact the Parish Office at 310/454-1358. The following are organizations supported by Saint Matthew’s Outreach:
Chrysalis was founded in 1984 as a food and clothing distribution center serving homeless men and women living on the streets of Los Angeles’ Skid Row. As the agency grew, Chrysalis developed an effective and nationally-recognized program to help homeless people become job-ready and ultimately find and retain employment. Today, Chrysalis’ philosophy remains the same - a steady job is the single most important step in a person’s transition to long-term self-sufficiency. Visit them at Chrysalis. The Clare Foundation treats substance abuse among the homeless and indigent men and women of Los Angeles County, offering services to those with no other hope or resource against addiction. Founded in 1970, Clare has treatment centers in Santa Monica, Venice and Los Angeles. For the past 18 years, Clare’s Women with Children Sober Living Program has been a lifeline to addicted single mothers with dependent children. Visit their web site at Clare. Common Ground is working to combat AIDS by providing comprehensive social services and public education programs to Westside residents at-risk for and living with HIV. Click here to visit Common Ground’s web site. Dorcas Ministries was started over 20 years ago by Mary Ballesteros (now Mary Mendoza). Mary discovered that prisoners in the La Mesa State Prison in Tijuana, Mexico were bringing their families to live with them at the prison if the families had no other means of support once the father was incarcerated. As a result, 3,000 people were being housed in a facility made for 1,000. The children could not attend school and were subjected to all of the problems of a prison environment. Dorcas House was created by Mary to house these children, and today operates two houses that allow 50 children to live in a safe and clean environment and to attend school. The Episcopal Chaplaincy’s mission is to promote spiritual and emotional well-being among patients and inmates in County, State and Federal institutions through pastoral care, counseling, religious instruction and prayer. Episcopal Relief and Development provides emergency assistance in times of disaster, rebuilds devastated communities and offers long-term program development solutions to fight poverty. Visit them at Episcopal Relief and Development.
Habitat for Humanity works with volunteers, families, corporations and congregations to tackle impoverished housing throughout the Los Angeles area. They are dedicated to making home-ownership possible for low-income, working families. Habitat selects families whose income falls within 25%-50% of the Los Angeles median income. Habitat homeowners are required to invest 500 hours of “sweat equity” and a 1% cash down payment in their homes. Habitat offers a hand up, not a hand out. Visit them at Habitat for Humanity.
Hollygrove is a child-centered, family-focused community organization serving abused and neglected children and those at risk of abuse. Based on a philosophy of character-building values, they help children and families to heal and develop emotionally, physically, intellectually and ethically. Their goal is for children to be part of safe, healthy and permanent families and to become contributing members of society. Visit them at Hollygrove. Jubilee Consortium was founded in 2001 by five priests of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles who are dedicated to social justice and community building. Jubilee Consortium is designed to collectively promote and manage the outreach programs of inner city parishes of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. The Consortium members include Holy Faith Church in Inglewood, St. Stephen’s Church in Hollywood and St. Philip’s Church in South Los Angeles, along with the Episcopal Urban Internship Program (housed at Holy Faith). A parish-based urban organization, defined by the hopes and needs of the youth and families it serves, the Consortium strives to create safe and healthy neighborhoods through enrichment and leadership opportunities. Neighborhood Youth Association (NYA) was founded in 1906 by the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. NYA services at-risk youths and their families in the Mar Vista and Venice/Oakwood communities with programs emphasizing prevention and early intervention. Visit them at NYA. One Voice helps families within our community who are living at the poverty level. They provide everything from emergency relief services for families in immediate crisis to a scholarship program designed to better the quality of people’s lives. Their Christmas food basket program provides a Christmas meal to 12,500 people each year. Visit them at One Voice. OPCC, formerly known as the Ocean Park Community Center, is a network of shelters and services for low-income and homeless youths, adults, families, battered women and their children and homeless mentally-ill women. For over 40 years, OPCC has been empowering people to rebuild their lives. Visit them at OPCC.
St. Joseph’s Center’s mission is to provide
working poor families, as well as homeless men, women and children of
all ages, with the inner resources and tools to become productive, stable
and self-supporting members of the community. Based in Venice, the center
provides services such as a food pantry, a no-cost preschool, occupational
training programs and counseling. Visit them at St.
Joseph's Center.
The Wellness Community is a national non-profit organization dedicated to providing free support, education and hope to people with cancer and their loved ones. Through participation in professionally-led support groups, educational workshops, nutrition and exercise programs and mind-body classes, those affected by cancer learn vital skills that enable them to regain control, reduce isolation and restore hope regardless of the state of their disease. Visit their web site at West LA Wellness Community. Westside Food Bank is a community supported organization which collects donated supplies and salvageable food, as well as food purchased at wholesale, and then distributes this emergency food to hungry people through more than 65 social service agencies. More than 30 million pounds of food is distributed annually by this important organization. Visit them at Westside Food Bank. Wilshire Crest Elementary School Saint Matthew’s provides operating support and helps with their annual Christmas party. WISE Senior Services strives to help seniors live independently for as long as possible. They achieve this through their case management services, Adult Day Care Center, transportation vans, and anti-fraud campaigns to combat financial abuse. They administer the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, whose volunteers help protect the rights of seniors living in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities. Based in Santa Monica, WISE is one of the largest and most respected organizations of its kind in the country. Visit them at WISE or contact Craig Weston at 310/826-0811 for more information. |
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Saint
Matthew’s Outreach Ministries support a wide range of projects,
organizations and activities here in Los Angeles and in the wider world.
Our parish’s members give generously of their time, talent and treasure
to make a difference in the world in the Name of Christ. From providing
a meal for the homeless in our own city to working with the Anglican Church
in Belize, if you’re looking for a way to have an impact in the
world, Saint Matthew’s Outreach Ministries has a place for you.
Angel
Interfaith Network is staffed by volunteers from participating
churches and the community and provides referrals and services to patients
from LA County/USC Medical Center. One of the Network’s major program,
Project Angel, helps families with newborns recover the joy of childbirth
by assisting with their urgent needs, such as clothing, diapers, wipes
and shampoo. Other programs provide desperately needed services such as
transportation to and from the hospital for parents with very ill children.
Contact Ann Mills at 626/799-2858.
Global
Aids Interfaith Alliance (GAIA) partners with religious organizations
in less-developed countries to prevent the spread of HIV and to care for
village-level people living with AIDS. Visit them at 
The
Heifer Project encourages people to “give a gift animal”
to those in need around the world. These monetary gifts will allow the
Heifer Project to donate animals which will produce milk, eggs and other
essential food to help end poverty and hunger. As the livestock multiplies,
the recipient families are encouraged to donate one of their animals to
another family in need. Visit them at The 
The
Salvation Army Santa Monica Shelter (Samoshel) is a 110-bed shelter
for homeless adults. Saint Matthew’s parishioners serve dinner at
this facility monthly.
Saint
Matthew’s Thrift Shop is located at 2812 Main Street in
Santa Monica. Since 1957, Saint Matthew’s parishioners and friends
have donated clothing, household items and time to stock and run the shop
which gives away all of its proceeds to support outreach organizations.
The Thrift Shop also provides hospitality and friendship to it clients.
New volunteers are urgently needed to continue this special ministry.
Contact Susan Carroll at 310/390-0309 or visit the Thrift Shop on the
Web at 
Saint
Matthew’s Ministry in Belize Since 2000, Saint Matthew’s
has sent teams of teenagers and adults to Belize to work on repairing
and building churches and schools damaged by hurricanes. In 2005, that
work is being expanded: there are two Service Projects that will include
youth and adults, each planned to include time to work, time to build
relationships with the Belizian community, and a chance to explore the
country. Additionally, we are in the beginning stages of developing a
Literacy Training Program for teachers to enhance their skills at teaching
reading and general comprehension of all subjects. For more information
on these projects, please contact The Reverend Julie D. Bryant at Saint
Matthew’s at 310/454-1358, or visit