In January 2011, the City House Board of Directors decided on the following goals and objectives to guide our work for the next 3 years. These goals grew out of the conversations and prayers that more than 100 people connected with City House contributed in the past few months. 

1.       Make the transformation experiences of City House accessible to more people

a.        Provide a means of volunteering for people who are not trained as spiritual directors, but who desire to be spiritual companions with people on the margins, and who want support for that. Provide a short-term training to get them prepared, connect them with a friend on the margins, and provide ongoing support. Invite City House participants to also complete this training, and volunteer to be holy listeners with others.

b.      Develop a “training of trainers” model, to equip people to start City House-like programs in their own organizations and communities.

c.       Offer street retreats and inner city pilgrimages, which can be a feeder into other forms of participation and volunteering in City House.

d.      Work more with businesses, offering experiential leadership development based on relationship with people on the margins, and spiritual reflection.

2.       Sustain and grow the core program, organically and relationally

a.       Prioritize staffing and resource to ensure the sustainability and vitality of the core program, connecting volunteer spiritual companions with people on the margins.

b.      Host regular gatherings for City House volunteers and participants, from all sites, to come together to build community and connect spiritually. Support each other to carry out the spirit of City House relationships in all areas of our lives. 

c.       Refine and document internal procedures for recruiting and supporting volunteers and partner agencies.

3. Deepen and broaden partnerships, making them more intentional

a.       “Give it away.” Offer City House’s programs from a place of generosity and trust, providing services without charge, and inviting people and organizations to “pay it forward,” giving donations to support future participants.

b.      Deepen our collaboration with the Ignation Spirituality Project, who offer retreats for people who are homeless, with the goal of ending homelessness.

c.       Work closer with local spiritual formation programs, integrating City House’s learnings and relationships into their curriculum.

d.      Partner with Redeemer Center for Life and Redeemer Lutheran Church in offering inner-city pilgrimages, doing joint fundraising, and building a base of City House’s work in North Minneapolis.

e.      Work closer with churches, supporting congregations as they move from service of food/clothes to a spiritual component of outreach, into spiritual friendship

 

4.       Tell the story of City House so it is more visible and known

a.       Refine the following framework for City House and use it to expand the base of City House’s support in the community, through the media, partnership development, materials about City House, and relational outreach:

                                                               i.      City House builds the spiritual muscle to end homelessness, poverty, and addiction. We pursue this goal both by supporting the spiritual muscle of people who are dealing with homelessness, poverty, or addiction--and also building the spiritual muscles that we all need to change systems and cultures to end homelessness, poverty, and addiction.

b.      Prioritize fundraising, through inviting individuals, churches, and businesses to become financial partners in City House’s mission.

c.       Encourage more volunteer/participant pairs to share their stories in presentations, writing, and videos for the purposes of leadership development, outreach, and friendship development.

Communicate the impact of City House’s work with related research and evaluation, showing the impact of mutual spiritual support.

We invite your collaboration in carrying out these goals! Please contact Michael Bischoff, the Interim Executive Director, at michael@city-house.org or 612-234-1122 to talk about how you would like to work with us.