Inter-Faith Council for Social Service (IFC)

Inter-Faith Council for Social Service (IFC)’s mission is to confront the causes and respond to the effects of poverty in our community. People experiencing housing precarity, often individuals experiencing homeslessness and earn anywhere from 0 to 30% of the area median income (AMI), may access IFC services to help stretch their budget and stay housed. These services include: Community Market for fresh produce, pantry staples, and personal hygiene items; Community Kitchen for balanced hot meals daily; Emergency Financial Assistance for support paying rent, utilities, medication, and other essentials; Community Navigation for drop-in access to computers, phones, and community resource support; Activate! IFC for engagement around civic issues and participation, leadership development, and voting.

IFC’s vision is a community that meets everyone’s basic needs, including dignified and affordable housing, an abundance of healthy food, and meaningful social connection. Their work is guided by the core values of mutual respect, social justice, community power, self-determination, and integrity. IFC provides access to both HomeStart shelter for women and children and Community House shelter for men starts with calling the Orange County Housing Helpline. Additionally, a limited number of households living in our community may receive support of an intensive case management program called Permanent Supportive Housing.

When Jane arrived at HomeStart, she met with a Case Manager about her goals to work toward housing and address some mental health issues. The Case Manager connected her with HomeLink, where she now has a Peer Support Worker who helps her with mental health, housing, disability, and maintaining employment. She also works with Freedom House for her mental health medication and therapy. At one point, Jane lost motivation and stopped working diligently on her goals. Her Case Manager reached out and encouraged her to continue focusing on her goal of housing. They were able to link up with Orange County Housing where she was able to get a rapid re-housing voucher. Jane moved into an apartment. Her case manager worked with her to get her power and water connected and gave her resources on maintaining connection with the SNAP program over the internet. Her mental health is stable, and she is excited she was able to reach the goals she set when she first arrived at HomeStart.

Questions? Whether you’re interested in services IFC offers, donating money or goods or volunteering, you can learn more about their work at http://www.ifcweb.org. You can also sign up to volunteer in the Community Kitchen by contacting Mar’lisa Wooten at 919.929.6380 x2026 or email her at mwooten@ifcmailbox.org.