LFC to Sponser Hurricane Families

Yesterday I attended a meeting of local housing officials, school district resource people, children services and pastors and church leaders to name a few. It was a meeting to decide if bring 12 families to Lompoc was a viable option. Our hearts, minds and I beleive God said, YES! Let's open up some HUD housing and with the community organizations and churches working together - let's offer a possible new life (in more ways than one) to those in need.
We are one of twelve churches in our community who are taking on the sponsership of a family and we are partnering with a smaller church to make it possible for them to support a family as well. This is a concerted community effort and I am honored that LFC is stepping up.
This opportunity in light of our ministry faire today (showcasing the many ministries and teams of LFC) cause me to be overwhelmed with gratitude and blessings to the Lord for the opportunities He has allowed us to have and the strength and resources to make the most of these opportunities. Thanks LFC for leading the charge and moving forward.

Read below for the Lompoc Record Article on the sponsorship:

Community comes together for victims of Hurricane Katrina By Mark Abramson/Staff Writer

The county, community charities and nonprofits and churches have united to bring some relief to Gulf Coast families displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
Santa Barbara County officials are working with federal agencies to identify 12 families that survived the hurricane and are willing to be relocated to Lompoc. Ten churches signed up during a special meeting Saturday at Bethany Lutheran Church to sponsor most of those families, and local charities indicated they are willing to help as well.
The meeting was sparked by Susan Warnstrom, vice president of the LHCDC board. Warnstrom, who is also an assistant to County Supervisor Joni Gray, sent an e-mail to 50 Lompoc Valley churches asking for their involvement.
"I think whatever we should do as a community, we should," Jeanie Sleigh, deputy director of the nonprofit Community Action Commission of Santa Barbara County, said before the meeting.
The families will be moved into six three-bedroom and six two-bedroom renovated apartments managed by Lompoc Housing and Community Development Corporation. That is enough space for up to 60 evacuees.
"It all starts with having a place where people can come live," said Ed Moses, county director of housing and community development and a former undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Moses told representatives from the churches and charities that the federal government would get the people to town, a process that could take a few weeks to a month.
"This is something that I am happy to do. I can't stress the urgency of this," Moses said. "They will be coming with nothing but the clothes on their backs."
Once the families are relocated, the key will be to get them back on their feet by providing food and clothing, finding them jobs, getting their children enrolled in schools, having their apartments furnished, and seeing to their emotional and spiritual well being, Moses said.
Jeannie Begley, Catholic Charities client services regional coordinator for Lompoc said her nonprofit has programs to help with furniture, utility bills and other essentials. Catholic Charities also operates a food pantry for those in need.
The county's social services department told the audience that it can provide the families with four months of food stamps to pick up some of their grocery tabs, but it would not cover everything they need. And the LHCDC has a program to allow the families, which will be eligible for federal Section 8 housing assistance to pay rent, to pay their security deposits in $10 monthly installments.
Other organizations, like the Second Time Around Thrift Shop, have indicated they could help by providing vouchers for clothes and other things in its store, Warnstrom said.
Some churches indicated they would need to get their board of directors' approval and would need a few weeks, and others, like Lompoc Foursquare Church offered to help the smaller congregations out if they needed help sponsoring a family.
Although the cost of sponsoring a family is uncertain, everyone in attendance expressed a willingness to do what they can.
"I know we can help 60 people in this community," Sleigh said.