The St. Simon Parish Outreach and Social Justice Council has two opportunities for our parishioners to provide service to others in our local community. Come and help us make a difference! These are wonderful opportunities to serve our community as a family or fulfill service hours as a student.
We need help to open a shelter for women and children. Casa de Clara in San Jose has been providing an emergency shelter to homeless women and children for over 40 years. It was closed during the pandemic and now needs repairs before it can be reopened by the Catholic Worker organization.
During the week of February 14, 8th graders from St.Simon Parish School volunteered at Casa de Clara to provide service to the shelter. They worked in gardens, painted rooms, organized and cleaned rooms. The Tijuana Ministry volunteers came together to upgrade the kitchen and a bathroom. St. Simon Parish has committed to furnish two of the bedrooms in the house with beds, dressers, linens, and other items for daily life. There is still a great deal of work to do before the target date to reopen the shelter on April 1.
How can you help?
We need volunteers to help with cleaning, painting, and landscaping. We have a need for plumbing skills to help move a water heater. In the weeks to come we will need donations of furniture, linens, and household items. We will work to keep the needs list current so that you are aware of opportunities to help women and children who are alone and living on the streets.
Please contact Monica Rising at tijuanaministry.com (http://tijuanaministry.com/) to make arrangements to come and help. She can also answer any questions. Families are welcome. Whether you have an hour or days available to help, we need you! Thank You.