Atlantic County Commissioner, Church by the Bay Expand Efforts to Help Homeless Women and Families

GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP — What began as a simple question about the greatest need facing homeless women in Atlantic County quickly turned into a community-wide effort that collected enough feminine hygiene products to fill 100 care packages.

Atlantic County Commissioner-at-Large June Byrnes said the idea came after visiting an outreach event hosted by Church by the Bay in Galloway Township, where she witnessed firsthand the growing demand for food, clothing, housing assistance and other basic necessities among the county's homeless population.

"I said to him (Pastor Lou Stragala), 'I know everybody knows food and clothing. What's really difficult for you to get right now?'" Byrnes recalled during an interview with Anne Baker on WOND's Talking with Anne (weekdays 10a-12p) "And he said to me, 'Feminine hygiene products.' I said, 'I'm on it. I got it.'"

Within days, Byrnes sent a flyer to dozens of friends asking for donations.

The response quickly snowballed.

"I just texted it to about 50 of my friends and asked them to drop it off at my house," she said. "It didn't just go to 50 close friends. They sent it to their mother's club. Somebody else sent it to their pickleball group. I had such an overwhelming response."

Volunteers gathered at Church by the Bay on Tuesday to assemble approximately 100 care bags for women experiencing homelessness. Additional donations, including laundry baskets filled with toiletries, socks and personal care items, were earmarked for Avanzar, which provides services to survivors of domestic violence.

"I hope we make it an annual thing," Byrnes said. "Maybe we'll grow out of Pastor Lou's church, which he'd be happy about that, and find another venue to package everything up."

Helping Those Most in Need

Byrnes said her involvement began after joining a county homelessness task force led by local officials, law enforcement agencies, social service organizations and healthcare providers.

The task force introduced her to Church by the Bay and its pastor, Lou Stragala, who also serves as chaplain for several Atlantic County first responder agencies.

"I came over to his church because he invited me to an outreach program that he does every three or four months," Byrnes said. "He opens up his church. He has all these social service agencies come in and sit with people that are experiencing housing issues. He feeds them. They can go in the food pantry. They can get clothing. They can sit down and talk to an attorney if they have legal issues. They have JFS here helping them look for housing, possibly for a job. So many different social service agencies."

Pastor Stragala said the church's outreach ministry has grown significantly in recent years.

He estimates the church now serves between 70 and 90 homeless individuals each week, creating a constant need for food and other donated supplies.

"Our food pantry is constantly being depleted," Byrnes said of what Stragala told her during a recent visit.

One Stop for Help

Rather than requiring people experiencing homelessness to travel from agency to agency, Stragala said Church by the Bay brings those resources together under one roof.

"If you can't put two and two together because of addiction issues or mental illness or the fact that you've just been so depressed for so many years, how can you go from Margate to Atlantic City to Northfield to here to there?" Stragala said. "So I said, 'Why don't we just bring them all in under the church?'"

Today, outreach events include representatives from housing agencies, legal aid organizations, addiction recovery services, mental health providers and employment assistance programs.

People attending the events can also shower, receive clean clothing and enjoy a hot meal.

"They're able to go for mental health. They're able to go for housing. They're able to go for expungements, legal aid, addiction recovery," Stragala said. "Whatever the needs are, we try to find someone that can fill it, and they're able to get it all done in the same room."

He said the model has produced measurable results.

"We've probably housed well over 200 people in the few events that we've had, and we've only had about four of them so far," Stragala said.

Restoring Dignity

For Stragala, the ministry is about far more than distributing food and clothing.

Every donated item, he said, is prepared with care.

"Every piece of clothing that goes out has been touched by someone, either to be put on hangers or folded," he said. "It's not just thrown on the table because part of what we try and do is give people dignity and respect that normally don't receive any."

Byrnes said she saw that dignity firsthand while volunteering at one of the church's outreach events.

She recalled meeting a woman who was temporarily living with a friend while trying to rebuild her life.

A donated rolling suitcase became much more than luggage.

"It was somebody else's trash was her treasure," Byrnes said. "It was like Christmas Day for me—not for her, for me—when her eyes lit up and she said, 'I can have one of these?' I said, 'Yes.'"

Community Support Needed

Both Byrnes and Stragala said community donations remain essential as demand continues to grow.

Among the items most urgently needed are peanut butter, canned soups, chili, tuna, canned chicken and other nonperishable foods, along with hygiene products.

Byrnes encouraged residents to follow Church by the Bay on social media to learn about future outreach events and volunteer opportunities.

"So many people just need to know where to donate and where to share the information with anybody that's out there that you might know," she said. "It's really word of mouth right now."

She hopes this week's hygiene drive becomes only the beginning of an annual community effort.

"I knew people would respond," Byrnes said. "I just didn't realize how overwhelming that response would be."