Page 128 - South Mississippi Living - December, 2019

GivingBACK helping the homeless Seashore Mission
story by Lynn Lofton photos courtesy of Seashore Mission
Offering hope, peace and refuge for all, Seashore Mission has been serving the community since 1991.
A ministry of the United Methodist Church’s Seashore District, the mission has partnered with other organizations to expand its services during recent years.
“For the past three years we’ve partnered with Loaves & Fishes
to provide a cold weather shelter at the multi-purpose building in D’Iberville when the temperature drops below 40 degrees,” the
Rev. Elijah Mitchell said. “Other partnerships include the Veterans’ Administration, Mental Health
of South Mississippi, Coast Family
Health Center and United Health Care for Medicare and Medicaid.”
Services for the area’s homeless
are three meals
on Mondays and Thursdays, facilities to wash clothes
and take showers,
clothing and shoes,
and assistance
for securing
identification cards, birth certificates and food stamp applications. “We also offer case management and can refer people to organizations for services we don’t provide,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell, who is a full-time Methodist Minister, would like
the community to get involved with the homeless population to find resources and support. “The homeless population is increasing for various reasons,” he said. “It’s not one organization’s problem; it’s a community problem. Some become homeless due to job loss and come to the Coast because
they’ve heard there are a lot of jobs here. They don’t investigate before they come.”
Assistance from
the community is always welcome in the form of donations of money, food, clothes and shoes. Volunteering time
is also helpful. “We use a lot of paper products such as plates, napkins, paper
towels and toilet tissue. If we didn’t have to buy them, it would reduce our monthly expenditures of $11,000,” Mitchell said.
Regular hours for the mission are Mondays and Thursdays 6:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.
Food pantr y stocked full of canned goods.
Community laundr y room.
Seashore Mission | 856 Division St., Biloxi | 228.331.1477 www.seashoremission494763781.wordpress.com | seashoremission856@outlook.com
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