Church Relations Resources
Equip your church with the resources below to help expand awareness and take action to support your neighbours.
Food Security
The needs of our struggling neighbours and families are rising significantly — especially when it comes to food security. Discover how the food landscape is shifting in communities like Vancouver, Richmond, and Mission, in the reports below. Written with a variety of UGM's partners, these reports summarize the network of food supports available and capture the immediate need for further programs.
Is your church considering a community food program? Or looking to restructure a meal program that’s already underway? With the A Table for All toolkit, you’ll learn how to build connections between communities of faith as you create, host, partner, or rethink community meal programs in your own context.
What Is Outreach?
We may be familiar with the term outreach, but few of us know all that it encompasses. To better understand the scope of this vital work, a team from UGM inventoried the outreach services that faith communities and other organizations are providing to support people who are homeless or otherwise vulnerable in Richmond, British Columbia. This report provides valuable insights into the nature of outreach work and recommends immediate and longer-term changes to the system of outreach services in Richmond, to better support people on their journey from the street to stable home situations, so that we may lessen both human distress and the cost to our healthcare system.
Housing Reports
In 2016 and 2018, with academics, researchers, community organizations, and other key community stakeholders, Union Gospel Mission developed the No Vacancy Report, which provided readers a point-in-time snapshot of the growing housing affordability crisis in Vancouver. Low-income families are faced with a stagnant supply of affordable housing options and low vacancy rates, statistics that contribute to an increasing level of unaffordability. The report focuses and brings awareness to the challenges low-income families encounter when trying to secure appropriate housing.
Interrupting Human Trafficking
How are local churches raising awareness and advocating for individuals vulnerable to human trafficking and sexual exploitation in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley? What do churches need to know about trafficking in our region? This report is a step towards establishing a collaborative, long-lasting approach to coming alongside vulnerable individuals and providing care.
Devotionals
We hope these devotionals encourage you on your journey!