HISTORY

In the mid 1970′s, the pastors of several Sioux Falls churches decided that there needed to be a more efficient way of providing help to people in need, when it was brought to their attention that there were people in town over-utilizing churches for assistance. It was discovered that these same people were using all of the public services, as well. They also used the Volunteer and Information Center, claiming no one would help them.

Several of these churches, mostly in the downtown area, decided to pool their funds through Southeastern Human Development in 1978. When they closed in 1982, these church funds were channeled to Catholic Family Services and combined with their emergency crisis funds, becoming “Community Church Crisis Fund.” Originally, all administrative costs were provided by the Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls.

In addition to serving people at the Catholic Family Services office, an outreach office was opened in September 1982 at the Kateri Indian Center to be more accessible to and better serve those in need.

By 1983 the caseload had outgrown a part-time caseworker and a public service grant was obtained from the Sioux Falls Department of Community Development for a full-time caseworker for one year. This brought improved service and provided for more follow-up and consultation.

An advisory board consisting of representatives from various denominations was created in February 1983 so that churches could provide input to the Catholic Family Services Board of Directors on the goals, objectives and recommended policies for the “Community Church Crisis Fund.”

In 1984 the board of Catholic Family Services decided that even though another caseworker was needed, it could not include this in their budget request to the Diocesan Finance Committee because the “Community Church Crisis Fund” provided services to the Sioux Falls area and not the entire Diocese. It was then that they decided to seek admission to the Sioux Empire United Way, which was a year long process.

A call for help went out to the churches of Sioux Falls for funds to maintain this position until such time that Catholic Family Services would become a United Way Agency. Ten local churches responded with pledges of salary contribution in order to keep the employee and program in existence.

In January 1986 the Catholic Family Services was accepted and became an affiliated agency of the Sioux Empire United Way. A full-time caseworker was hired to assist the growing number of clients seeking assistance.

Only July 1, 1987 the “Community Church Crisis Fund” moved their office downtown to the Good Shepherd Center to be more accessible to clients and closer to emergency service agencies. As expected, caseloads increased.

The “Community Church Crisis Fund” separated from Catholic Family Services on May 1991. This program formed as an agency and became incorporated with the State of South Dakota. It was at this time that the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws were accepted and approved by the state, and a Board of Directors was selected. The three Incorporators were: Dr. M. Kent Millard, Pastor at First United Methodist Church, The Very Reverend Robert D. North, Dean of Calvary Cathedral and Father Gregory Tschakert. These three served on the Board of Directors along with James McAdaragh of Western Bank, Rev. David Berg, Anne C. Hajek, David Rozenboom and Rhonda James. Since this ministry was ecumenical from inception, the initial intent was for it to be independent and self-serving.

In 1995, two major things took place. The agency underwent a name change to The Community Outreach and the office moved with the St. Vincent dePaul Thrift Store to 431 North Cliff Avenue. Both turned out to be positive for the agency and the clients. There were two staff: director/caseworker and caseworker/administrative assistant.

The Community Outreach continued to serve those in need through financial assistance and referrals and in 2006 educational programs where added to the mission of the ministry. Project Jump Start was formed and started with a Community Impact Grant from United Way. Project Jump Start is a home-based financial literacy program that utilizes trained mentors to help families make the changes they need to journey out of the cycle of poverty. Project Jump Start is currently funded by United Way and our strong faith partners.

In November 2008 the agency moved to 231 North Weber Avenue.

In 2009 Genesis was started through a community initiative funded by United Way. Genesis is a mentoring program that focuses on teaching financial literacy and life skills to help families that are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Genesis matches families with trained mentors and a caseworker that helps them break the cycle of poverty. In 2011, project Jump Start was phased out and Genesis became our primary strategy for assisting families seeking to move from crisis care to long-term life changes.

In April 2011 the agency moved to The Sioux Falls Ministry Center at 225 E. 11th Street, Suite 200.

The Community Outreach continues to be a strong partner in the Sioux Empire area and is striving to meet the needs of the poor and working poor.