St. Columba Ecumenical Ministries Programs

PROGRAMS

St. Columba has a variety of programs that serve the homeless and less fortunate in our community.

Day Center
Open Monday through Thursday from 9 am to 2 pm, guests can get showers, sandwiches, coffee, and
other snacks. We see an average of 55 persons in our Day Center each day. Guests can also have their
laundry done Tuesday through Thursday. We provide a newspaper and videos for educational and
informative purposes. Our Clothing Closet consists of donated clothing and linens and is open by a
volunteer Mondays at 9 am. We allow guests to use our phones and mailing address for the purpose
of seeking employment and establishing services with other agencies. Our Homeless Advocate works
with guests to help them connect with resources, such as bus passes to get to work and appointments,
guidance obtaining ID cards and birth certificates, work boots and food.

Next Step Transitional Housing
A 2-year transitional housing program for single, homeless, adult males and females provides residents
with the opportunity to get back on their feet. We have 4 fully furnished houses located in Norfolk
that house 4 persons each while they transition from homelessness to independent living. Residents
coming into the program are started off with food, a 30-day bus pass, linens, and toiletries. Two case
managers oversee the houses and work with residents on goals relating to employment, education,
substance abuse, mental illness, life skills, budgeting, house keeping, physical health, and community
involvement. Finally, residents are guided as they seek and establish their own apartments.
Interested individuals must meet with the case managers for a presession and interview prior to
acceptance into the program. The acceptance process can take up to two weeks, and sometimes longer
due to the length of our waiting list. During this time, case managers will share the program
structure, expectations of residents and roles of case managers in helping individuals overcome
homelessness. To schedule an interview, interested applicants or their case managers can call (757)
627-0312 to speak with one of the case managers.

Women's Houses

Men's Houses

Food Pantry
Open Monday through Thursday 9 am to 2 pm, referred families and individuals are provided with
enough food for three days. When providing food, we take into consideration restrictions clients
may have on what they can eat or prepare, including health conditions, access to cooking facilities
and special foods for children. All clients receiving food must have a written referral from their
case manager or social services in order to receive food. Our food pantry is stocked through
donations and special purchases when we have specific needs. We are supported by numerous
churches that make financial and in-kind donations. We work closely with the Foodbank to
eliminate hunger. We serve approximately 75 families and individuals each month.

Financial Assistance
St. Columba has financial assistance to help prevent homelessness in our community. Sometimes
families and individuals have encountered a hardship (illness, loss of work, accident) that has caused
their normally tight budget to be stretched beyond its means. Many people are living from paycheck
to paycheck.

Rental Assistance
St. Columba Ecumenical Ministries, Inc. applies for funding from grants each year to provide rental
assistance to families and individuals in Norfolk and Virginia Beach. There are times throughout
the year when funding is not available because we are between grants. All clients must call to see if
we have funding, then do a phone interview prior to scheduling a time to come to the office.
Interested individuals can call (757) 627-6748 Monday through Thursday for more information.

Utility Assistance
We receive financial assistance from churches in Norfolk and Virginia Beach to provide partial
utility assistance to residents in those cities. We are only able to help when we have funds available,
and assistance is based on information gathered through a phone application. No applications are
taken in person, in fact, applicants are not required to come to our office at all. We do require,
however, that the utility be in immediate threat of disconnection and the account holder contact us.
We only consider assistance with water and electric bills (phone, cable, car payments, etc. are not
considered). Applications are taken by phone at (757) 627-6748 when funds are available.

Prescription Medication Program
Funded through HSG monies, this program is specifically for homeless individuals who are in need
of assistance with prescription medications. Clients must be referred by an agency that is able to
verify homelessness and complete the necessary paperwork to make the referral. We are unable to
fill prescriptions for narcotics, psychotropic medications and other medications that are deemed
unnecessary. Clients in need of this assistance must speak with their case manager to be referred.
All referrals are done by fax and usually processed the same day when received Monday through
Friday 8 am to 3 pm.

Vision And Dental Program
Funded through a generous grant from the Hampton Roads Community Foundation, this program
is specifically for homeless individuals who are in need of emergency dental work (fillings and
extractions) and eye exams to get glasses. We have partnered with the American Red Cross Dental
Clinic, Pearle Vision and the Lions Clubs of Norfolk to provided these much needed services to the
homeless. Clients must be referred by an agency that is able to verify homelessness and complete
the necessary paperwork to make the referral. Clients in need of this assistance must speak with
their case manager to be referred. All referrals are done by fax and usually processed the same day.

Client Privacy Statement
Homeless Management Information System

We collect personal information directly from you for the reasons that are discussed in our Privacy
Notice. We may be required to collect some personal information by law or by organizations that
give us money to operate this program. Other personal information that we collect is important to
run our programs, to improve services for homeless persons, and to better understand the needs of
homeless persons. We only collect information that we consider to be appropriate.

The collection and use of all personal information is guided by strict standards of confidentiality. A
copy of our Privacy Notice is available to all clients upon request.

St. Columba Ecumenical Ministries, Inc.

2114 Lafayette Blvd., Norfolk, VA 23509 Phone: 757-627-6748 Fax: 757-622-2569