Mobile Resource Response Team (MRRT)
Letter from Anne Fuertes, Parishioner Contact for MRRT
(excerpt of letter read at weekend Mass)
Even though it feels as if ministries of the church have slowed down, it is just the opposite, our Church, Our Lady Queen of Heaven, is ALIVE and doing the Lord’s work! In Matthew’s gospel Matthew 25:35-45, we are reminded of the Corporal Works of Mercy that we are asked to fulfill.
“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.”
Here, at OLQH, we strive to do just that!
The Pastoral Council has been working with The New Hope Resource Center in Puyallup since October 2020 to provide services for the homeless in East Pierce County and I am proud to announce we finally have the Archdiocese’s approval and the guidance of CCS, to pursue our newest venture into caring for the underserved and unsheltered.
OLQH is going to be hosting the Mobile Resource Response Team or MRRT,
2-4 times per month in our parking lot.
There are very little resources on this end of the county and so the New Hope Resource Center in Puyallup contacted us in September 2020 and asked if we could participate in their new program, the Mobile Resource Response Team, MRRT. This is an interagency effort by Pierce County to help the unsheltered to protect themselves from Covid-19 by providing basic sanitation, hand washing stations, shower, toiletries, and clean clothing to the underserved.
Physically, this consists of one RV and two trailers, one that houses showers and one that houses washer/dryers to clean the clothes. The RV is the hub of the effort, where intake counselors are ready and available to help the patrons get the help they need. With a couple of tents, they are able to provide services safely, with masks on and social distancing adhered to. Providing clean clothes to put on after their shower, helping them wash what clothes they do have, giving them a meal to eat then and to take one with them.
This is an effort to help the homeless and meet them where they are at. We all have seen an increase in our homeless brothers and sisters as you drive along Pacific Ave. How many times have you wished there was some way to help? This is a start!
All they need from us at minimum is the location of a flat surface that they can set up the tents. They are all inclusive except the use of the restrooms in Grier Hall. They provide everything needed, their own water supply, their own electricity, all supplies and food needed and they provide the counselors. It is exciting to allow them to expand their services to our end of the county by using our church grounds.
At this time, that is all that they need. There will be, in the future, when the Covid situation is more under control, opportunities to serve this organization by volunteering to provide food, clothing, etc to the patrons, but at this time, they just need the space. We wanted to inform you all that they will begin this Monday, March 8th. I will be the coordinator of this effort for now, and look forward to answering any questions that you may have. As we can expand in opportunities to volunteer, I will let you know, as I think it is a great opportunity for our church to minister to those that have less than we do.
The safety of all has been considered and many other churches are already doing this, and it works!
The Mobile Team provide a safe place for all. There are people trained in de-escalation always there and if they need any assistance, they call the police. Just because someone is homeless, hungry, dirty or even mentally unstable doesn’t mean that they are a safety concern.
In Matthew 25:40 Jesus said, when you do for the least of my brothers, you do for ME.
Let’s not be fearful, and let’s try to see God in everyone’s eyes.
