Central Unitarian Church offers members a couple of ways to take action against homelessness in our region.
Each year, over 40 members of our congregation take an active part at St. Cecilia's Family Shelter in Englewood for one full week. We prepare a complete hot meal for the five guest families every evening, pack a bag lunch for the next day, and offer the families a light breakfast in the morning prepared by the overnight hosts. Our week this year was the week after Thanksgiving.
The Overflow Homeless Shelter Program, started in 1997, offers food and shelter for guests who cannot be served by the Bergen County Shelter due to overcrowding. For two months in the spring, we provide sanctuary for up to ten guests, one night per week. Members prepare dinner, engage with guests, and create a dormitory in our Assembly Room. We host the Overflow Homeless Shelter Program each Tuesday evening in April and May.
The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have too much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.
—President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 2nd Inaugural Address