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The Shepherd's Table was an outgrowth
of Silver Spring HELP, a coalition of congregations
united to provide help to those in need in our area.
In 1983, a group of representatives from HELP member churches
began to meet to try to meet the needs of the increasing
number of people who were coming to the churches for help.
One crying need was for shelter for homeless men who were
appearing on the streets in Silver Spring. The group began
to educate itself about the problem of homelessness and discovered
that there was no emergency shelter for men in Montgomery
County--Montgomery County Police routinely drove homeless
men to shelters in DC. The group lobbied and worked with
the county Human Services Department leading to the opening
of Montgomery County's first shelter for homeless men in
the fall of 1983.
The group then turned its attention to feeding programs
for the same population and with the donation of use of a
small house by the First Baptist Church, the Shepherd's Table
(now a separate organization) opened in December, 1983. Our
church has been represented by a monthly dinner crew since
the second evening of its operation. The Shepherd's Table
has since moved to larger and much more efficient quarters
at Progress Place on Silver Spring Ave. in downtown Silver
Spring. It serves dinner to all who come every night of the
year, over 650,000 meals served so far...
UUCSS member Cathy Johnson has
been volunteering at The Shepherd's Table since 1983.
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