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People who make less than 75 percent of the poverty level are the fastest-growing group in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Vision Twin Cities and the Twin Cities Urban Reconciliation Network work together to provide material assistance, volunteer support and training that helps families pull themselves out of poverty and create hope for a brighter future.
Vision Youth
Vision Twin Cities is launching its Vision Youth program in 2002. At the center of Vision Youth are the Youth Outreach Workers (YOWs), hired by local churches with the support of World Vision. They are committed, Christian adults from the community who have walked the same walk as the children they serve. The YOW leads and coordinates tutoring programs for young children and mentoring programs for teens as well as mobilizes volunteers in outreach to their community. Vision Youth comes alongside children when they are young and walks with them as they grow into adulthood, providing strong role models and the influence of a caring adult, with the aim of helping youth make good decisions and set positive goals for their lives.
The Storehouse
In Vision Twin Cities, The Storehouse distributes life-changing products ranging from clothing, toys, toiletries and household items to meet daily needs. The Kids In Need Resource Center, a free school supply store for teachers who work in low-income schools, is another arm of The Storehouse. Teachers no longer have to spend their own money on supplies, and their students don’t have to go without these valuable learning tools.
Tools for Transformation
To best serve young people and families, organizations serving their communities must know what’s available and how to get it to those in need. Tools for Transformation provides community networking and leadership training that gives local leaders the skills to develop visions and pull together the resources that can make a real, lasting difference in people’s lives.
In Twin Cities, this is accomplished through MetroLINC (Love in the Name of Christ), which links those who want to serve with those who need their help. Churches, corporations and individuals are matched with appropriate programs and projects that change lives. Twin Cities also operates HopeMakers, which helps welfare recipients as they enter the job market by providing employment and life skills training, a caring mentor and a caring church community.
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