St. Austin serves the broader community through our six Ministries of Charity:
Through our Outreach to Persons in Need ministry, we assist our neighbors with their rent or a utility bill, over the phone or in our new ministry space (beginning in November 2023). We receive about 100 requests for assistance each week, and we help between 20 and 30 households each Thursday morning.
Our St. Vincent de Paul Society (SVDP) also provides rent and utility assistance as well as other types of support as needed to people living in the five zip codes closest to St. Austin. SVDP volunteers meet with neighbors in need by phone or in person, and they meet and pray together twice a month on Tuesday evenings.
Our Gabriel Project ministry provides confidential and caring assistance to mothers who are expecting or have a child under two. The program offers immediate and practical help including emotional, spiritual, material, or educational support to mothers and caregivers in need. Gabriel Project volunteers, called Gabriel Angels, meet with moms in need and with each other monthly for prayer and support.
Micah 6 is an ecumenical effort. With other faith communities in the University of Texas area, we work to identify and meet the needs of the homeless and impoverished near the UT campus. Micah 6 runs a twice a week food pantry (Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings), a weekend street youth drop-in center, and a weekly women's resource group.
St. Austin's Service Days bring parishioners and school families together on a few Saturdays a year to serve at local nonprofit organizations or to beautify our parish home.
Our Christmas Basket Project ministry provides Christmas gifts and gift cards for food to make the holidays brighter for families in need.
Please support our ministries of charity by praying for all of our neighbors in need, through financial donations, or by volunteering to help in one of these ministries. Email Kristen for more information or to volunteer.
Director of Social Justice Ministries, Kristen Dempsey Pasyk and two volunteers in our Outreach Ministry, Esther Yacono and Keith Arrington, describe the work they and others do to support our neighbors in need.
Despite the limitations imposed by the global pandemic, our community continues to serve those in need of help with rent and utilities.
Through your generous contributions to the Persons in Need collection, you help us help others through Outreach and our St. Vincent de Paul Society. Thank you.