The Niles Star

Mt. Calvary Baptist Church looks for help to help others

By By JESSICA SIEFF / Niles Daily Star
If there is any point of light for families who may feel stuck in a dark place as more and more find themselves in need of assistance – it may be the tireless efforts of many charitable organizations to find more resources for those who need it.
Efforts like those being made by the ministry at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in Niles.
Mt. Calvary has continued to stock its clothes closet with winter wear, including children's, women's and men's jackets, pants, shirts, coats, hats and gloves as well as remind the public about its food pantry program.
LaVerne Armstrong, a member of Mount Calvary for over two years and public relations contact for the women of purpose ministry coordinated the food pantry program and clothes closet.
Armstrong estimated that 150 to 160 families have been helped through the food pantry since November, alone.
"It seems that we're growing," she said.
The pantry opens on the fourth Saturday of each month between the hours of 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. and emergency food is available (to inquire, call (574) 855-2670 or 683-0480). The program started back around March/April of last year and Armstrong said those working the program have been serving families beyond Niles and throughout the Michiana area. "We get so many new clients each month," she said.
Names, the number of people living in the household, a driver's license/state identification and the last four digits of the individual's social security number are asked for when applying for assistance, Armstrong said. "What we're doing, is tracking," she explained. The ministry is looking for those families who repeatedly need assistance so they can identify their needs and begin identifying how better to assist them by referring them to other, various agencies.
In the meantime, to aid those in need, churches like Mt. Calvary have to look for aid as well. Armstrong said she and those working with the program are beginning to venture out, seeking out national food banks to see if they can get accepted for receiving resources, "so we can reach a larger area of people."
The program has seen an increase in those needing help, she added. "We seem to have a lot of single moms…" Armstrong said. There also seem to be a lot of men out of work, but the church tries "not to delve too much into their background," in order to give those the feeling of a comforting place of assistance and less a government agency.
Last Saturday, Jan. 24, Armstrong said the church helped an estimated 35 families.
"(And) we're starting to do deliveries," she said, for those in need who are elderly or ill or unable to leave their homes to get to the church.
For now, as the church continues to try and help those families within its communities and beyond in need. Armstrong said for those wondering what they can do to help, she and the ministry at Mt. Calvary are sending out "a cry for volunteers."
"We're asking them if they can come down and volunteer to help with loading vans," Armstrong said, of the men who come by with their families in need of assistance.
Mt. Calvary Baptist Church is located at 601 Ferry St. in Niles.