A Place at the Table

Our Sunday program for hungry and homeless people in Cleveland began in 1983; the service was intended primarily for our neighbors who lived in single-room and low-income housing. In 2006, A Place at the Table served between 200-225 people each week. A third of the people we serve are older adults, while 65% are staying in area homeless shelters.

Early in 2006, we embarked on a comprehensive evaluation of A Place at the Table and the needs of the people we serve. As a result of our work, we have fostered an atmosphere conducive to more sustained work with the people we serve; strengthened our partnerships with other community organizations that serve homeless people; and gathered essential information about the people of A Place at the Table. We have identified our core areas of service as:

• Direct Service: basic human needs of food, shelter, medical care and socialization
• Individual Advocacy: services designed to help individuals move towards stability and sufficiency
• Systemic Advocacy: advocacy for just public policy and budgets on issues of hunger, poverty and homelessness
• Community Building: ways to invite the people of A Place at the Table into the broader community, including the events and activities at Trinity Commons.

The cornerstone of A Place at the Table is the light breakfast and hot lunch we provide; people who live in shelters often receive minimal breakfast and dinner only on weekdays, and other social service organizations that serve the homeless are closed on Sundays. However, in the last two years we have greatly increased our partnerships with other Cleveland organizations in order to provide supportive services and to assure that we provide services efficiently and in keeping with Greater Cleveland's community of service providers. We now cooperate with InterAct of Greater Cleveland, Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, Community Legal Services, the Cleveland Homeless Legal Assistance Program, the Cleveland State University School of Nursing, Cuyahoga Community College School of Nursing, CARE Alliance, The Empowerment Center, Community Hiring Hall, Cleveland Catholic Charities, Hunger Network Cleveland and the Cleveland Foodbank. During 2006 and 2007, our curate, the Rev. Judith Alexis, has also begun to provide individual advocacy and assistance during the week.

In addition to serving our homeless neighbors, A Place at the Table serves the Trinity congregation and other volunteer groups and congregations by providing an opportunity to be of service to those most in need. In addition to the project's five part-time staff, in 2006, 93 people contributed 3266 volunteer hours to A Place at the Table. The program's volunteers include Trinity members as well as Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple in Beachwood, Chi Delta Epsilon and Zeta sororities at Cleveland State University, Park Synagogue in Cleveland Heights, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Mentor, St. Louis Catholic Church in Cleveland Heights, St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Brecksville, and the Universal Universalist Society in Berea. We also welcome individuals who want to volunteer their time to the program.