In February of 1989 two people, a 1971 GMC bus, and a vision moved to New York City to fight a major problem: Homelessness. Richard and Dixie Galloway, husband and wife, were from Texas, but they decided to take a trip to NYC when their friend from Long Island, Alastair Geddes, invited them to lead a mobile outreach movement. They transformed that 1971 GMC into a mobile healthcare unit. Serving food, clothing and free medical care and examinations it was an open door for people experiencing homelessness.
How do they do it today? Now their mission is still the same, but their vision has changed. With more support from local churches and generous donors and volunteers they have expanded into much more. Their mission is planned and that plan begins with 3 words Compassion, Connection and finally Community. Compassion is the beginning of something great. Pop-up tents with volunteers give out basic everyday essentials along with food, clothes and a prayer. Next is connection, this includes life visits and the creation of action plans. This is part of the plan where volunteers begin to connect people with the resources they need. Finally, Community, while people begin their journey City Relief will help with paperwork or even attend meetings to advocate on people’s behalf. All of this is possible because of generous donors and the amazing volunteers that give their time to support City Relief.
Who is involved? City Relief has 27 employee’s who are all vital for the success of their mission. Their leadership team consists of Josiah Haken(CEO), Elysia Saint-Ange(Chief Operations Officer), Lydia Lucas(Chief People officer) and Jessica Wright(Chief Strategy & Advancement Officer). Other employees consist of
- Cory Dziedzic, Outreach Leader
- John Dere, Senior Manager of Outreach
- Elizabeth Fischetti, Advancement Manager
- Lisi Fredriksen, Resource Coordinator
- Carlos Garcia, Driver
- Corey Hayes, Creative Director
- Jahlil Holmes, Outreach Leader
- Jason Luke, Director of New Jersey Programs
- Lobitta Lughas, Guest Care Coordinator
- Nelson Maldonado, Guest Services Field Manager
- Deborah Miranda, Executive Assistant
- Linimary Molina, Facilities and Office Manager
- BJ Neal, Senior Director of Programs
- Jim O’Hagan, Fundraising Consultant
- Arnold Onyango, Finance Associate
- Kate Richards, Director of Volunteer Services
- Zeandra Rodriguez, NJ Program Manager
- Dan Sadlier, Senior Director of Development
- Anncito Saint-Ange, Outreach Leader
- Matthew Schuler, Outreach Leader
- Sherry Sung, Volunteer Coordinator
- Marcellous Valentin, Guest Care Coordinator
These men and women work tirelessly to make sure everything runs smoothly and they can work to shape City Relief into their vision.
How can you help? City Relief is a non-profit organization and can not run without the generosity of others. If you would like to find out more about City Relief click here https://www.cityrelief.org/.
Of you would like to volunteer your time to support a great cause click here https://www.cityrelief.org/volunteer and if you would like to donate or find out more about it click here https://www.cityrelief.org/driven. City Relief is focused on helping people who need it the most and they can’t do it alone.