God's Work. Our Hands.

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. …whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”  Matthew 25:35-36, 40

I consider myself blessed to serve in a ministry authorized by the Synod that allows me to do these things “for the least of these” in the name of Jesus every day. Cathedral Clinic is a partnership between Christ Church Cathedral (Episcopal), Healthcare for the Homeless – Houston, and Baylor College of Medicine, and is part of a larger outreach ministry of Christ Church Cathedral to the homeless. The clinic provides free medical and psychiatric services, including medication, case management, psychotherapy, and substance abuse couseling for homeless patients who have no other access to care. Additionally, we have a partnershp with the Harris County Sheriff’s Department that allows us to visit inmates in the county jail who will be homeless and in need of our services upon release. 

Tom is 61 years old, and was a manager at the world famous Café Dumond in New Orleans. That is, until Katrina blew through the place. When the flood waters rose in his apartment, Tom fled to his roof, where he spent three days and nights until being rescued by helicopter. He lost everything. He was taken to the Astrodome, and eventually placed in an apartment in Houston. Unable to find a job, he was not able to pay the $50 per month required of him by FEMA, was evicted, and became homeless. I met him on a Sunday afternoon in May, 2008, eating lunch in the Beacon, a drop-in day center and soup kitchen for homeless. Since he had medical concerns, including high blood pressure and diabetes, but had no way to get medicine, I made an appointment for him to see a doctor the next day at the Cathedral clinic. When I met with him again at the clinic, I discovered that Tom sometimes heard things and saw things that other people didn’t. He did not know that these were hallucinations, symptoms of a mental illness, and that they were treatable with medication. I also learned that Tom used alcohol to escape when life got to difficult to handle, and it was becoming a problem. At the clinic, we provided him with medication for his blood pressure, diabetes, and mental illness. We helped him apply for social security disability and Medicare, we helped him overcome his alcohol abuse, and we helped him get his own apartment, a Single Room Occupancy (SRO) through New Hope Housing, another ministry of the Cathedral. This all happened over 3 years ago. Last I saw Tom he was doing great, staying sober, and helping others by volunteering at the Beacon. 

For more information about the outreach ministries of Christ Church Cathedral:  www.chomhouston.org

For more information about Healthcare for the Homeless – Houston:  www.homeless-healthcare.org

Pastor George Bement