The activities of the AFC are coordinated by our Steering Committee. Membership of the AFC and our Steering Committee are open. Fr. Joel Miller serves as the Chair of the Steering Committee. We have no paid staff. The Committee includes clergy and laity. We also enjoy regular participation by the Homeless Services Center (HSC), the City of Santa Cruz and other representatives from the greater community.

The Steering Committee meets on the first Thursday of each month at 5:00 PM in the fireside room in the parish hall at Calvary Episcopal Church. Refreshments are served. The meetings adjourn promptly at 6:30 PM.

We would be pleased to add you or a representative of your faith community to the AFC Steering Committee mailing list. Our members would welcome you or your representative at the Steering Committee.

Our current and planned projects are:

The AFC Inventory Committee's efforts to complete the survey and publish a directory of services provided by faith communities in northern Santa Cruz County is a work in progress. One hundred and thurty-four (134) surveys were mailed last summer to faith communities.

over 2000 people sleep outside or in automobiles in Santa Cruz county every night. The City of Santa Cruz, the County of Santa Cruz and the City of Capitola permit limited RV camping at church facilities with some restrictions. One of those restrictions is that the County has four exempt zones that do not permit RV Camping. The Recreational Vehicle Parking Committee has developed a document titled "Interfaith Satellite Shelter Project Recreational Vehicle Guest Program." This program is designed to assist by local churches in establishing an RV program at their church. Representatives of the AFC subcommittee responsible for this effort are scheduling visits to faith communites throughout northern Santa Cruz County to discuss how the AFC can assist faith communities in establing and managing RV programs.

The AFC Steering Committee is making an effort to reestablish the ISSP program by April 2012. A pilot ISSP program began at Calvary Episcopal Church in February 2012. Calvary Episcopal Church, First Congregational Church, The Circle Church, Trinity Presbyterian Church, and Holy Cross Catholic Church are hosting a pilot shelter program five (5) days per week. The shelter location rotates with each participating church serving as host one day each week. Additional faith communities are needed to make the program work seven days per week. The AFC developed a model "Pilot Shelter Program Operating Policy and Rules" for the ISSP program for thwe first church in the program. The Operating Policy and Rules are available to be used as a model by other faith communities for developing similar shelters.

The Steering Committee is working on five alternatives to mitigate the impact of the Homeless Services Center (HSC) funding shortfall on HSC nutritional programs. This program is in the planning stage along . Participating churches will assist HSC by preparing and/or serving evening meals. HSC currently provides meals for between 150 and 200 homeless people each evening. At this time, some churches provide dinner coverage on week-ends. We hope to expand that effort and broaden the base of support among faith communities.

The Socks for People in Need (SPIN) program is designed to use existing church clothing and food distribution outlets and meal sites to collect donations and distribute socks for people in need.

Every morning most of us put on a clean pair of socks without much thought. But for our community’s homeless and families in need, fresh socks are often a luxury that they cannot afford. Because they are often on their feet all day, the only pair of socks they may own is likely to be dirty, wet or full of holes. New socks are a blessing for many reasons, especially health and hygiene, but they also provide comfort and a sense of dignity.

SPIN: Socks for People In Need, is an exciting new program (sponsored by the Association of Faith Communities) in the Santa Cruz area. Our mission is very simple: reaching out to help our brothers and sisters in need by providing them with clean NEW socks. Our plan is also very simple: collect socks / collect donations to buy socks, and then distribute them to people in need throughout the area. You can help in several different ways:

Donate NEW socks by placing them in the well-marked SOX BOX located at your church. Basic white crew socks are appreciated by everyone, but you could also choose to donate socks specifically for women or children.

Make a financial donation toward the purchase of socks. SPIN has a VERY low-cost (but high-quality) local source for socks. We will purchase the socks and deliver them to your church or to one of several community-based distribution points.

Sock drives encourage kindness and thoughtful awareness among people of all ages. You could to organize a sock drive at your school or office, in your neighborhood or among friends and family members.

The Steering Committee is exploring ways to plan and implement an effective grant function for the AFC and its member organizations.

Membership in the AFC is open to all faith communities in Santa Cruz County.

Our Steering Committee members represent Calvary Episcopal Church, The Circle Church, Episcopal Church of St John The Baptist, First Congregational Curch, Holy Cross Catholic Church, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Resurrection Catholic Church, Santa Cruz Revival, St. Stephen's Lutheran Church, Trinity Presbyterian Church, Homeless Services Center, the Santa Cruz City Council, and the Appleton Foundation.

Our Steering Committee meetings are open to all interested members of faith communities and to others who are working to improve the lives of those who who are homeless, living in poverty or who are in economic need in Santa Cruz County.

The Founding Principals, Mission Statement, and Objectives as adopted read:

a. Founding Principles:

We see that every faith community regardless of form has as a core value helping those who are suffering due to injustice, poverty, homelessness or disability.

We are committed to honor and serve the faith communities of Santa Cruz County in their myriad forms, whether Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant, nondenominational Christian, Buddhist, Islamic, or communities of other faiths.

b. Mission Statement

Our mission as an Association of Faith Communities in Santa Cruz County is to coordinate the efforts of our members in their collective ministries to people who are homeless, living in poverty or who are in economic need and to assist our members in enhancing the effectiveness of our individual and collective efforts.

c. Objectives:

i. Creating a directory of current ministries provided by faith communities to our target population,

ii. Enhancing the ministries that we collectively provide,

iii. Communicating information about these ministries to those in need, and to the community at large,

iv. Planning new services to meet the needs of our target population,

v. Identifying and attracting new financial and other resources to fund existing and new services, and

vi. Coordinating our efforts with secular private non-profit and government entities that provide services to our target population or that set public policy affecting this population.

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Organizations Represented on the AFC Steering Committee:

Information on Services to Homeless People in Santa Cruz County