MAM’s mission is to assure that families have the means to meet their basic needs. To carry out that mission, they assist families facing financial crisis to avoid homelessness, offer programs to enable long-term financial self-sufficiency, assure children an improved school experience, facilitate client access to other support networks, and enhance MAM’s value to its member congregations and the community.
MAM clients live or work in Houston‘s central and close-in West and Northwest neighborhoods such as the Heights, Spring Branch, Acres Homes, Memorial, Jersey Village and more. Every year, MAM helps around 20,000 unique individuals (~5 unduplicated families) through its emergency and stabilization programs from rental and utility assistance, sack meals, household cleaning and hygiene supplies, medical, prescription, dental and mental health assistance and employment programs.
Each day, these families and individuals arrive at MAM’s doors bearing the weight of a financial crisis so big that they can no longer handle it alone – from imminent eviction, family hunger, the need for urgent medical care, or loss of transportation to their job.
Volunteer and paid caseworkers help MAM clients address their immediate need with a variety of emergency services including rental and utility assistance, food pantry referrals and sack meals, transportation vouchers, access to medical services and much more. Next, caseworkers and volunteers take the time to work with clients to untangle a web of underlying issues that will continue to threaten families’ long-term stability, like a job loss, illness or disability, or lack of language skills for better employment, need for family counseling and so on.