CHARITY CORNER n SHAKERS & MOVERS
Clarita’s House
Outreach Ministry
H
omelessness is an incredibly
complex issue that impacts both
those experiencing homeless-
ness and the entire community.
Every year over 3 million people expe-
rience homelessness, including 1.3 mil-
lion children. The face of homelessness
is diverse and includes mothers, fathers,
sons, daughters of every racial and eth-
nic minority persuasion. One-third of the
homeless population is made up of fam-
ilies, 25%-40% work, 37% are families
with children and 25% are children. Any
disruption for low-income families—un-
expected illness and medical expenses,
unemployment, divorce, or loss of trans-
portation—can create a financial crisis that
results in loss of housing. According to the
Economic Impact Report released by the
Central Florida Commission on Homeless-
ness, the average cost per day for a chron-
ically homeless individual living on the
streets is $84.93 per day, which equates
to over $30,000 per year. The cost of an
individual staying at a transitional housing
facility is $22.28 per day, which is approxi-
mately $8,000 per year.
Clarita’s House Outreach Ministry (CHOM) is
a non-profit program for the homeless and
disadvantaged. The outreach serves the
homeless on the streets, in shelters, in the
woods and in motels in Orange and Osce-
ola Counties. Annually, CHOM feeds 2,316
families, 2,564 children, and 1,212 people
in shelters, depending solely on donations.
In Osceola County, we are putting most of
our emphasis on the children living in ho-
tels, on the streets and in the woods. There
are over 3,000 registered homeless children
just in Osceola county alone. Most of these
children live in aged rent-by-the-week or
by the month motel complexes along U.S.
Highway 192, minutes away from Disney
World. Most are doubled up with friends
and relatives and some are living in cars and
travel trailers. We provide groceries, cloth-
ing, personal care items, school supplies,
toys, spiritual support, mentoring and other
resources to these families with children.
Our mission is to help the homeless and the
disadvantaged achieve self-sufficiency and
inspire them to reconnect with society in a
productive way. For more than a decade,
we have been able to continue this mis-
sion. Our vision is to provide food, clothing
and other resources needed to become
independent and productive members of
our community. Through some of our pro-
grams, we have helped thousands of fami-
lies and individuals with food and personal
care products, assisted with utilities, and
helped homeless receive funds for tempo-
rary shelter during winter months. Children
received free lunches during our free sum-
mer lunch program and hundreds of chil-
dren who live in hotels along highway 192
received toys and clothes for Christmas.
These are just a few of the projects that we
can accomplish thanks to the impact of our
caring community and business partners.
We depend solely on assistance from indi-
viduals, churches, businesses and founda-
tions to operate our programs.
"I am my brother's
keeper." We invite you
to become a supporter
of our program. Your
generous donations
will ensure that the
needs of our most
vulnerable citizens are
met. Donate to guarantee that every
American has a place to call home.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON
HOW TO DONATE VIST OUR WEBSITE:
www.ClaritasHouse.com
VOL 5, Issue 2
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