How we work

relief

Relief means helping our neighbors with their crisis needs when they walk through our doors. Families can visit the Neighborhood Food Pantry each week to receive a combination of produce, bread, meat, dairy, and non-perishable groceries, along with personal and household hygiene items. Financial assistance with rent and utility bills is also available for eligible households facing crisis situations. Our neighbors in crisis can also meet with a member of our Meharg Care Center team to help them find local resources for emergency needs.

development

Development programs focus on empowering our neighbors with opportunities to help them meet their long-term goals. Project Apple Tree walks alongside families to help parents and caregivers provide what they need to prepare their students to succeed in school and beyond. Employment Mentoring Ministry participants work part-time at Helping Hands Ministry, while also spending extended one-on-one time with the Meharg Care Center team to help them set goals and acquire resources for long-term employment.

advocacy & community education

At Helping Hands Ministry, advocacy means speaking out with, and sometimes for, our neighbors experiencing the effects of poverty. In partnership with other advocacy organizations, like the Texas Fair Lending Alliance and Feeding Texas, Helping Hands Ministry advocates for equitable policies and practices on issues such as payday and auto title lending and equitable food distribution.

Helping Hands Ministry supports community education efforts that allow us to get to know our neighbors and the individual and systemic issues they encounter. Staff from Helping Hands Ministry participates in speaking engagements and opportunities focused on understanding our whole community and the neighbors we serve.