Mission Statement & Goals

 

Mission Statement

 

Community Emergency Service (CES) is dedicated to assisting community people in meeting basic physical, emotional and spiritual needs in a warm, accepting and Christ-like manner.

 

General Goals

 

  • Foster a Christian environment throughout the entire ministry
  • Assist in meeting the basic physical, emotional and spiritual needs of people in a loving and personal manner while encouraging wholeness and self-sustenance
  • Promote and strengthen church relationships
  • Foster and promote an active volunteer program
  • Maintain a strong financial base to assure a continuing ministry
  • Provide a pleasant and affirming atmosphere in the work place to encourage the ministry of the employees
  • Encourage advocacy efforts for meeting the needs of the people served
  • Maintain positive relationships with neighborhood residents, community organizations and units of local government
  • Position CES for the future by ongoing evaluation to ensure quality and efficiency in addressing the most critical needs of the community

 

Goals & Objectives for 2007

 

  • Helping persons/families within the food shelf area with up to a three-day supply of food per month.
  • Assisting up to 100 Somali Benadiri families who have run short of food with up to three-days of food per month.  Due to special permission granted from the Emergency Foodshelf Network, we will serve these families whether or not they are within the area food shelf boundaries.
  • Preventing or resolving homelessness (for families in South/Southeast Minneapolis with minor children in the home) by referral or by assisting with part of a month’s rent – up to fifty percent or $300-$500, whichever is less, – as funds are available. In some cases especially when there are mitigating circumstnaces such as illness or injury involved, helping singles in the same way.
  • Providing a bus card to cover transportation to work until the first paycheck for those transitioning from unemployment to employment, as funds are available.
  • Helping by referral or direct aid to prevent or resolve utility shut-offs for families as funds are available.
  • Teaching young women and single mothers how to take steps toward self sustenance and to enhance their quality of life in a positive way by offering a class once a month on Saturday.
  • Continuing to reach more people in the inner city by meeting as many needs as possible, one person at a time.
  • Increase the awareness of inner city and suburban churches to the needs in the inner city and thus raise the base of supply.
  • Increasing long term changes through programs such as Work With Dignity (WWD), Resume Writing, Kid’s Care Program (child care start up), Families in Transition (FIT) (class for single mothers), computer use for jobs and housing, Simply Good Eating (Somali nutrition class), legal counsel through a local law firm and the CES Bible Fellowship
  • Work With Dignity -  With special funding provided primarily by Methodist churches thus far, we will continue to have part-time staff focused exclusively on helping find full-time employment at a living wage with benefits included .
  • To the degree possible and as resource dollars permit, to help indigent families/individuals with the oppressive, required $2 & $3 co-payments demanded by doctors and pharmacists for doctor visits, prescriptions and medications, especially when lack of the medications could be life threatening.
  • Showing those in crisis that God can make a difference in their lives as their physical needs are met.

CES endeavors to do all this in a context of Christian love and witness with the hope of seeing faith sparked or rekindled in the lives of those who are interested.

Also, see Impact of Dollars Given, to further observe how CES impacts those that are in crisis and how funding assists in this process.