Sherri Binder
We're hiring!
We're hiring!
Sherri Binder
Please join us in thanking the Rider-Pool ...
Please join us in thanking the Rider-Pool Foundation!
Sherri Binder
I got BINGO!

At RCI Village, we not only provide affordable housing, but we also create a community environment where neighbors get to know each other and we have fun. Getting to know your neighbors makes you feel safe, gives you a sense of belonging, and an opportunity for people to socialize who often feel isolated and alone.

I got BINGO!

Finding a place to call home

As many of us prepare to have a nice Thanksgiving meal at home with our family, some people will be hosting their first Thanksgiving in a long time. For most of the RCI Village residents, the thing they are most thankful for this year is a place to call home.

It’s hard to believe, but the RCI Village program has completed one year already. There have been many high points, difficult moments, and new learnings. The need for good, affordable housing and a supportive community remains consistent. Many of our residents would still find themselves in unsafe and unstable living if it were not for the RCI Village program. At our open house in September, one resident said, “I would still be stuck in my cycle of moving place to place if it weren’t for RCI Village.” We see success and hope in the lives of our residents who have gained stability. Having a place to call home is at the center of stability. When you don’t have a place to sleep and rest, it affects other areas of your life. You may miss work or school, your health is put at risk, and you develop stress and depression. We are grateful to help the people in our program, but we recognize the need is still great. For every individual or family we were able to help, there were 5 more in the same situation in need of stability. That is a hard reality to live with.

This hard reality drives us to be creative and press forward. We continue to find ways to expand the program so that others may find stability. In the past two months, the RCI Village welcomed two new families and were able to provide good housing and stability. A young mother now has a community that she trusts and friends to count on when she’s depressed. A couple is no longer living in a tent in the woods, allowing one of them to secure a full-time job. This is what the RCI Village is all about. Stability and community. Helping people to find a place to call home.

Fall Fun at the RCI Community Center

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Welcome to Fall! As the weather has been getting chillier over the last few weeks in Allentown, PA, the Community Building Center has been busier than ever. We have been continuing to enjoy having a space to call our own and have been dreaming with our community about how we can use it to serve each other in the best way possible. Right now, that looks like a continued partnership with St. Luke’s Parish Nurses as well as LVHN’s Street Medicine on a weekly basis to care for each other’s health needs. It also looks like therapeutic circles twice a week led by our Community Chaplain and continued relationships with community volunteers who lead games, crafts and even weaving! At our core, RCI continues to put nurturing relationships FIRST and this core has given us the chance to be recognized as a safe place for many of our marginalized friends.  

In addition to our day to day, we have been able to host some exciting events over the month. On October 17th, LVHN Street Medicine hosted a Narcan Training for our staff, volunteers and community members. 25+ people joined us to learn about the opioid epidemic in the Lehigh Valley and practice administering Narcan (an opioid reversal medication) in a safe manner. What an awesome privilege to be able to do outreach while supporting our community!  
 
On October 19th our friends at First Presbyterian Church of Allentown supported us in hosting a Fall Festival! We loved sharing a meal with them while playing games, decorating pumpkins and overall getting ready for the holiday season together. It felt good to be able to meet each other and share stories with people of all different ages and backgrounds.  
 
After our Fall Festival came trick or treat! A few of our Ripple Church and RCI members came to the porch to hand out treats from 6-8pm. We went through several bags of candy and even got to start handing out chocolate covered pretzels to the parents and guardians of the local trick or treaters. Some of our favorite costumes were bees, sharks, monsters and even a few princesses!  
 
Finally, last week we have welcomed partners from 2 congregations in Mexico who have come to the Center to learn more about RCI and the work that we do here at the Center. The hope is that they will be able to use these learnings and knowledge to take back to their own community where they are looking to grow a similar program to our own. We have enjoyed food, conversation and especially singing with this crew and we already miss them and hope they are able to visit again soon!

Summer 2019 Re-cap

The Community Building Center was hopping all summer long!

We moved into our new building on Linden St in the beginning of May and hit the ground running. We’ve had yoga classes, yard clean ups, multiple youth groups visits, an ice cream social, and of course, card games! We are grateful to all our volunteers who helped us transition to the new space and continue to serve our friends and build new relationships. The new Community Building Center has allowed us to hold our restorative circles regularly again, which promote healthy relationships and empathy. Through circles, we begin to learn each other’s names and support one another. Another bonus about our new space is that we can share it with our partners like St. Luke’s Parish Nurses and LVHN Street Medicine. The Community Building Center has truly become a hub of support and community. Many new faces came through the door this summer and each person has found a sense of belonging and ownership of their new community space. We love hearing the words, “Everyone’s so nice here. I feel so safe.”

We ended the summer by having an Open House for everyone to get together and celebrate. It was a great mingling of people from all different backgrounds and walks of life. Looking across the room you saw a beautiful mosaic of our great community.

Beginnings and transitions

RCI continues to grow and develop, and so does our staff!

Please join us in welcoming Grace Newswanger, our new Program Coordinator for the Community Building Center. Grace is a long-time resident of the Lehigh Valley who comes to us with valuable experience in the healthcare and non-profit sectors, including a stint that involved establishing a community center in the U.K. In Grace’s words, these experiences have “nurtured a passion for people, relationships and coming alongside others to share in their stories.” In this role, Grace will be managing the day-to-day operations of the Community Building Center and coordinating our stellar team of volunteers. We couldn’t be happier to have her!

 At the same time, we are very pleased to announce that Marilyn Bender is transitioning into a new role as our interfaith Community Chaplain. As RCI has grown, we have come to recognize the need to maintain our capacity for intensive one-on-one relationships with members of our community. With Marilyn’s background in spiritual direction, Gestalt therapy, and trauma training, we knew she was just the right person for the job. Thanks to Franconia Mennonite Church and Franconia Mennonite Conference for making this new position possible!