From its inception in 1991 Silver Spring Interfaith Housing Coalition has garnered generous support from numerous sources in the community.  Our member congregations come from a variety of faiths and form the backbone of the organization.

Congregational Supports 

SSIHC interfaith members view their service with us as a fulfillment of their spiritual mission to serve. Congregation leaders sign a collaborative agreement and submit annual membership dues. Representatives of the congregations serve on the SSIHC board of directors.  Additionally, over 90% of our current mentors come from member congregations.  We have had partnerships with two member congregations, Good Shepherd United Methodist and St. Luke Lutheran Church, each of whom provided a home for SSIHC families.  Good Shepherd and St. Luke's each opted to allow their SSIHC families to continue living in these homes after their term in our program and continue to include them in their communities. This kind of partnership enables us to leverage existing resources to produce housing in the most efficient and effective manner and we would welcome offerings of homes from other congregations or individuals.  A congregation or individual would provide a single family home that they already own thereby avoiding the costly process of locating down payment dollars and financing a mortgage for SSIHC.  SSIHC brings eighteen years of supported housing experience in selecting residents, recruiting and training mentors, and providing a mix of professional and volunteer support services.  SSIHC's experience provides congregations and individuals with the confidence necessary to enter the supported housing field without the expense of hiring staff and program administrators.  Our partnerships demonstrate how local groups and individuals can collaborate to solve some of the most challenging problems confronting our communities.

What our member congreations do:

• Provide volunteers to serve as mentors, board and committee members
• Provide adult and youth group volunteers as "extra hands" to help with special projects and events, etc.
• Make commited annual donations that provide the foundation of financial support to SSIHC
• Provide unused congregation property to be converted into affordable housing for SSIHC residents
• Provide space for board meetings, mentor trainings and special events
• Promote, publicize and participate in SSIHC's activities
• Organize special collections and delivery of household needs
• Provide SSIHC families access to their food pantries and thrift stores for free or at reduced cost
• Educate congregation members about the causes of homelessness and some of the ways faith-based institutions can get involved in ending homelessness
• Offer their day care, summer camp, or other programs to SSIHC families for free or at reduced cost

A number of congregations, also interfaith, may be moving toward commited membership in the coalition or for a variety of reasons be unable to become a commited member of the coalition and yet have chosen to support us as they are able.  As with our coalition members this support takes many forms and supports SSIHC's ability to enrich our programs in ways that we would otherwise be unable to offer.

SSIHC is also the grateful recipient of financial and in-kind support from individuals and organizations who give generously of their time and from their resources.