With state lawmakers poised to make deep cuts to social services, a local initiative that connects low-income families to community resources is trying to get churches, educators and others in the community thinking about how they can help fill in the coming gaps.

Volunteers behind the initiative, known as Low Income Families in Transition, are holding periodic workshops for families who need help.

About 30 social service providers participate, giving people information about everything from food and housing assistance to family counseling and education opportunities, all in the same place. Many times, families can complete needed application forms on the spot.

Expanding guest list

The next such workshop is planned for April 9. But this time, LIFT is expanding the guest list.

Churches and school districts are being asked to send employees, organizer Jodi Terwilliger-Stacey said. The goal is to better familiarize them with the government agencies, charities and others in town that provide social service help, she said.

That way, officials likely to have contact with families left in limbo because of budget cuts will have a better idea of where else they might receive help, Terwilliger-Stacey said. Plus, organizers hope the networking opportunity will get churches thinking about what they can do to help providers deal with funding cuts.

For example, church members could help people fill out forms needed to apply for public benefits, such as food stamps or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, Terwilliger-Stacey said. That way, staff for those programs could spend more time processing applications, she said.

Similarly, residents might be able to help schools by volunteering as hall monitors or cafeteria assistants if campus budgets are cut to the bone, she said.

“We don’t know exactly what is going to happen, but we know there will be cuts,” Terwilliger-Stacey said. “(The workshop) is to tell the churches, ‘You’ve got to step it up. We’ve got to have your volunteers.’ ”

LIFT, a project of First Baptist Church of Waco and the Baylor University School of Social Work, sent invitations to the workshop to area school districts and churches.

Curt Kruschwitz, First Baptist Waco’s college and community missions minister, said there are likely a number of churches that yearn to help. The concept of doing mission work at home, rather than just abroad, has increased in popularity. But congregations may be unsure of how to begin, which is where the workshop can come in, he said.

“There is so much need in Waco, and people are seeing that,” Kruschwitz said.

Terwilliger-Stacey agreed, saying a silver lining of the proposed budget cuts is that people are talking more about social services.

“I think this fear has been a stimulus,” she said of the anxiety surrounding the budget debate. “We want to push that further into partnerships.”

Stacy Riggs, director of health services for the Waco Independent School District, said she is encouraging the school system’s nurses and counselors to attend the workshop.

Learning more about social service providers will no doubt be useful to them, because they routinely help families needing services, she said.

Riggs also is looking forward to networking with churches and others interested in volunteering to help offset funding losses, she said.

“Just making those contacts at a function like this would be very beneficial,” Riggs said.

The Rev. Pamela Rivera, pastor of Saint Luke African Methodist Episcopal Church in East Waco, said at least 16 members of her congregation plan to get training through LIFT. For the past two years, the church has thought about starting a ministry to help people access community benefits.

The information and training available through LIFT are exactly what the church needs to get started, Rivera said.

The church’s plan is to operate an ongoing program offering benefits assistance several days per week. At first, it will be housed at the church.

Eventually, the church plans to put the program in a separate building it recently purchased.

The proposed state budget cuts didn’t drive the church to start the program, but they likely will make the program more relevant, Rivera said.

“I guess it’s all in divine timing,” Rivera said.

LIFT is looking for volunteers willing to be trained to help workshop attendees, Terwilliger-Stacey said. That training will be held April 5.

The group also seeks volunteers from churches or other groups interested in helping low-income families connect with community resources on a more permanent basis, she said.

“We’ll try to create a training program for them before the fall hits,” Terwilliger-Stacey said, referencing when budget cuts may be enacted.

For more information, call First Baptist Waco at 752-3000.

cculp@wacotrib.com

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