Youth Emergency Assistance Hostel (YEAH!)
YEAH! is an innovative community of more than 50 local citizens, students, working and retired people, and social service professionals working to develop a
new model to prevent
adult homelessness by addressing the issues of
youth homelessness. They are actively involved with and supported by the Mayor and City Council of Berkeley, the Berkeley Homeless Commission as well as local youth agencies.
New Spirit Community Church was one of the organizations that provided seed money for this agency and continues to offer volunteers, Tuesday night dinners, clothing, Christmas parties with gifts, and extra hands at special functions. Check out their
website.
News from YEAH Executive Director, Sharon Leyden (dated 2006).
New Spirit has made emergency kits for distribution by the Church World Service. In the fall we contribute needed school supplies, make bags, fill them with love for children who need them. We make baby kits full of the expected supplies for younger children in the world.
AIDS Orphans in Africa
Ten percent of individuals at New Spirit sponsor a child who has been orphaned as a result of the AIDS pandemic. Sponsorship of a child's education is $360/year or HIV drugs for one child is $150/year. New Spirit also sends donated funds with Dr. Robert Scott when he travels to the orphanage quarterly, to be spent as need demands (sometimes medicine, often food). Two of our members have traveled to the orphanage, visiting the "kids" and working in the MOP medical clinic. Several other church members plan to travel to Zimbabwe as part of this program in the near future.
We sponsor 13 children now (as of 9/06) and seek to deepen our relationship with the Mother of Peace Orphanage in Zimbabwe. You can sponsor a child too; you don't have to be a member of New Spirit, Allan Temple, or any other group. The necessary information and sponsorship forms are here.
The main American sponsor of the orphanage is Allan Temple AIDS Ministry.
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader (FREE) here to be able to open the PDF file above.
Other Social Justice Work
- We have blessed and financially contributed to the AIDS riders at New Spirit as they bike to LA every June.
- We sent funds and survival kits to Southeast Asia after the tsunami.
- We sent funds to Lousiana after the Katrina catastrophe.
- We have several members active in the UN Assembly for Peace.
- We have several members active in the No Death Penalty campaign.
- We have several members active in the One Insurance Payer campaign in CA.
New Spirit, through all of its denominational partners, supports and encourages a variety of social justice and disaster relief campaigns. For more information on these responses, or to participate individually, see:
- DOC (Disciples of Christ)
- MCC (Metropolitan Community Churches)
- UCC (United Church of Christ) Note: you won't be returned to this page.
