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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.
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.
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.