Who We Are
Jeremiah Community will welcome home those have not had a place or a
people to call their own….
Who we are
Fredericksburg’s downtown churches came together in 2005 to coordinate care for the community’s street homeless. They called their collaboration Micah Ecumenical Ministries. As our churches fed, clothed and sheltered the unhoused in the winter, we learned about their deeper needs and developed tangible solutions, such as respite care for those who ended up in the hospital, housing stabilization, income development and a street church worshipping community. While our efforts have led to a more holistic continuum for those moving out of homelessness, we have learned that giving someone a set of keys and a case manager does not change their status. In fact, the Jeremiahs of our community frequently struggle in new ways when removed from their street community and faced with the added responsibilities of living indoors. While some can increase their independence and sustainability over time, others are truly limited due to disability or past trauma and will need a lifetime of support.
After years of living on the street, our neighbors remain stuck in survival mode even after moving indoors.
In following old patterns and staying connected to destructive circles, they sometimes even give up and return to the woods or sabotage the positive steps they’ve taken out of fear of losing it all again. To truly overcome homelessness, a person must think of home as a matter of community; that home is about belonging, connectedness, shared burdens and relationships. The Jeremiahs of Fredericksburg, therefore, cannot live into the full image God created them to be without an approach that embodies the scriptural meaning of “shalom,” a true wholeness, a human at peace in all relationships–God, self, others and creation. It is from this understanding that the vision for Jeremiah Community has emerged. In doing so, we can finally say welcome home to those who have long-since had a place and a people to call their own.
Join our mission. Volunteer, Donate, Advocate.
Let’s build a home for our neighbors.
Email: [email protected]
Call Anytime: 540-479-4116
