Our mission is to honor the dignity, restore hope and create lasting change for those experiencing homelessness or housing instability in the Green Bay community.
Who is St. John’s Ministries
This is a name that refers to our organization as a whole. St. John’s Ministries provides its services across four locations.
At our two seasonal emergency shelters of last resort, we provide adults experiencing homelessness with a safe place to sleep during the harsh winter months.
At the Micah Center and Wellspring, our two daytime resource centers, we equip adults experiencing homelessness – as well as community members at-risk – with the tools to achieve self-sufficiency.
What is our mission?
Our mission is to honor the dignity, restore hope and create lasting change for those experiencing homelessness or housing instability in the Green Bay community.
At St. John’s Ministries, we believe that each person is unique, with the same inherent worth as the day they were born. We meet each of our guests right where they’re at and walk alongside them on their journey. Our vision is that through a spirit of familiarity, rapport and trust, each person will leave better than they came.
What is a seasonal emergency shelter of last resort?
St. John’s Ministries runs two shelters: one for men and one for women. Both are seasonal emergency shelters of last resort, which means we only serve adults that aren’t eligible anywhere else and who would otherwise be sleeping on the streets. Our shelters operate from November 1 – April 30.
While homelessness carries a negative stigma in America, THE REALITY IS ALMOST 50% of those entering St. John’s Ministries shelter for the first time are employed individuals in low-paying jobs.
Life-saving mission
Supporting a person in their journey to self-sufficiency is the goal of our year-round daytime resource centers (Micah Center and Wellspring). Regardless of where they reside at night, individuals have access to on-site medical care, mental health treatment, support groups and workshops designed to eliminate barriers and ensure they have the tools necessary to move towards their self-sufficiency goals.
We offer on-site computer labs, daily meals, and one-on-one case management. Further, Micah Center offers the Joseph Project, an employment training
program in partnership with Senator Ron Johnson’s office, to prepare individuals for full-time jobs offering a living wage. Our women-specific daytime resource center, Wellspring, offers safety and belonging to women who are homeless, living with mental illness, disabled, facing financial issues or in broken relationships. Wellspring strives to elevate the mind, body and spirit through peer support, personal growth opportunities, resources and referrals. We foster an atmosphere of dignity and respect as we empower women and provide the means to help them grow.
The Micah Center and Wellspring are important resource centers to those who may be facing eviction or job loss. Since even one episode of homelessness can lead to decreased life expectancy, our work of prevention is truly a life-saving mission.
What can I do to help?
There are many things you can do to help someone experiencing homelessness. Guiding each person to resources helps restore hope and get people on the path to self-sufficiency.
CALL FOR SUPPORT — Because Brown County is a community where there is “no wrong door,” connecting a homeless adult to the Micah Center, Wellspring, our shelters or any other homeless provider will help you connect that individual to all providers available in the community, identifying the best resources for the person in need.
IF YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT SOMEONE’S HEALTH AND WELFARE — The Green Bay Police Department has trained mental health officers who can do a welfare check.
Become part of our mission?
If homelessness isn’t visible, people may think it doesn’t exist. However, this past year St. John’s served approximately 600 adults at our seasonal emergency shelter of last resort, had over 6,000 visits from individuals seeking resources at the Micah Center and over 4,000 hours of case management were provided to women at Wellspring. We serve many of the most vulnerable people experiencing homelessness who do not qualify for other shelters or services. We honor the dignity, restore hope and create lasting change in the lives of our homeless brothers and sisters.
DONATIONS
We maintain a monthly list of needs on our website and always welcome community members who want to hold donation drives or come up with their own unique way of raising funds or collecting items.
VOLUNTEERING
We can always use help serving meals, doing service projects and welcoming guests. We can utilize just about any talent you may have.
SUPPORT FINANCIALLY
We rely heavily on community support and the reality is that it is expensive to operate two shelters and two daytime resource centers. Heat, salaries, food, electricity are ongoing challenges.
The St. John’s Ministries model is simple. Regardless of where you have come from, regardless of the choices you have made, and regardless of what led you to this position, you have dignity and worth. You are loved. We welcome individuals to come right as they are. There’s no expectation that someone “clean up” prior to seeking out services. We love them just as they are but then also love them too much to desire that they stay in the position they are in.
We start with a mat and it’s not fancy, but it’s warm and it comes with a hearty meal, generously donated by volunteers. It’s harm reduction in its simplest form. At a basic level, we want to ensure that no individuals are on the streets of Green Bay in the harsh winter months. But, from the minute a case manager meets with the guest, we are providing wraparound services to ensure that the guest is offered every opportunity to seek out the resources necessary to take steps towards self-sufficiency. This includes drug and alcohol classes, mental health counseling, on-site medical care, services to help those seeking and those who have secured employment, and opportunities to increase one’s sense of self-worth through giving back. We offer guests the opportunity to move off the mat on the floor and into their own bed as they take these steps.
During the day our shelter doors close to encourage guests to get out and work towards their goals. We then open the Micah Center and Wellspring, our daytime resource centers, as one of the resources available. At our daytime resource centers, guests are welcomed with open arms. We want them to have a sense of belonging and do that with a strategic drop-in component. We offer a computer lab, programming rooms, on-site medical and mental health service, support groups, daily workshops and classes and resources for AODA classes so each individual can take the steps necessary in a supportive environment.
St. John’s Ministries has found that this approach works. Guests have often been turned down and away for so long that they’ve lost hope in themselves, hope in their future and hope in tomorrow looking any brighter than today. By loving individuals right where they are at and building an intentional relationship with them, we are able to help them start believing again.
