Our mission is to
create a community of
unconditional love, support and hope for the homeless
and to help end homelessness in Polk County
Joppa Outreach is a non-profit organization reaching homeless people in unique ways; in tents and shacks, in doorways and abandoned buildings, in cars and under bridges. Wherever unsheltered people are living, in and around Des Moines, volunteers visit with them weekly; building relationships, providing humanitarian aid and helping with specific needs.
There are as many reasons for homelessness as there are homeless
people. Some have lost jobs or family members; some have had accidents
or unfortunate medical issues; some are war veterans
and young adults with no support system. Addictions and mental illness
are prevalent.
Operating entirely on donations from individuals, families, churches and concerned organizations, Joppa volunteers build relationships while helping the unsheltered to stay warm, dry and healthy.
Our goal is to eliminate homelessness, which happens one person or family at a time. Sometimes it's just a matter of helping people reconnect with family and friends, and get transportation back home.
Typically, though, this process involves significant time mentoring as well as raising the necessary funds to help with a deposit, and rent for the first month or so, and:
1) Helping people acquire furnishings, IDs, transportation and jobs
2) Assisting people in overcoming current circumstances and mitigating any past mistakes
3) Advocating for, and connecting people to, resources including treatment and counseling
4) Responding to emergencies and individual needs via a 24-hour hotline
5) Providing continued aftercare in people's new homes once they are off the streets
This is what Joppa does. And, we can only do it with the help of people like you!
With God's grace, your continued contributions and support, one staff counselor and dedicated volunteers...Joppa helped more than 50 people get and stay off the streets this past year.
Thank you, and God bless all donors, volunteers, churches and other organizations who continue to make this work possible!
Please pray for those still out there!
