The Housing Faith Alliance (HFA), a program of Abba’s Family, is building bridges of connectivity between the faith community and formerly homeless mentally ill men and women in different neighborhoods across Tulsa. The alliance seeks to transform the faith community in this city through relationships of service with individuals who are poor, homeless, or who have mental illness.

Many formerly homeless individuals, however, are shy, lonely and afraid to reach out to others, and do not have close friends or strong support systems. Many want to be a part of making their neighborhoods a better place to live. Many say that matters of faith and their relationship with God are very important to them. Meanwhile, faith communities want to reach out but do not know how. Stigma and fear are formidable challenges to overcome.

The HFA seeks justice and mercy for the poor through the transformational power of faith infused relationships. The HFA is in collaboration with 20 or so faith communities in 5 different Tulsa neighborhoods and includes 12 different housing programs.

As one of those faith communities, St. John’s Episcopal Church hosted Evening Prayer for the HFA on May 14th, providing an opportunity for formerly homeless persons with mental illness, the Parish of St. John’s, and the workers and volunteers of the HFA to pray and join in fellow ship together.

The Executive Director of HFA is Bob Althoff, LCSW, LMFT, who can be reached at Info@AbbasFamily.org. An Episcopal board member of the Housing Faith Alliance, Br. James Patrick Hall, BSG, can be reached at halljktt@gmail.com