Welcome to

Baptist Friendship House!

A ministry of New Orleans Baptist Ministries, Inc. with the North American Mission Board, SBC

Located at 813 Elysian Fields Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70117

Update

Mission Statement

In recognizing the worth and dignity of homeless women and children, Baptist Friendship House
seeks to minister to the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs, with love through action and
truth as revealed in God's Word in Matthew 25.

History

Baptist Friendship House is located four blocks from the historic New Orleans French Market on the northern edge of the French Quarter. It is a ministry of the North American Mission Board, SBC. It began its ministry on September 29, 1944, in a building at 732 Frenchmen Street. On June 1, 1947, it was relocated to its present location of 813 Elysian Fields Avenue.

The community has been through many changes over the years, but the continued purpose of the center has been to minister to the surrounding community and metropolitan area, through holistic ministry.

Over the past few years the number of homeless women with children has increased. Today families make up one third of the nation's homeless population. To address this increasing need of homeless women and children, on August 19, 1999, Baptist Friendship House obtained a permit to provide overnight accommodations.

Today, Baptist Friendship House has both its continued ministry to the community and the Transitional Housing Program.

Baptist Friendship House's operation is totally dependent upon your contributions made by churches and individuals. You are a vital part of our ministry. Thank you for your help!

Hurricane Katrina

When the hurricane was going to hit, we evacuated our families in the transitional housing program to Mississippi. We were only 2 hours away, so were still in the storms path. We were without electricity and food for days until our friends from Get Real Ministries (Baldwin,GA) came to our rescue and brought a generator, food, and supplies. We gave out the items for the next 2 weeks to those who were affected by the storm in that area of Mississippi. From there we moved to Slidell, LA and then eventually to New Orleans in late September. We cleaned out our building - we lost all our freezers and refrigerators. We did not get electricity to the building until late December. Our Water was not turned on until January and we did not get phones until March. The families that were in our program are now settled in areas all over the country. However, there are many families in our community that have not come back and we have not heard from them.

For a year after the storm, we housed teams to come in and help with rebuilding New Orleans. They gutted and mudded out homes that were flooded. We also partnered with Oklahoma. They sent teams in consistently from January 2006 to January 2007. They donated a convection oven and a walk-in freezer/refrigerator.

MEET THE MISSIONARIES

Dr. Kay Bennett, DMin

Director

Kay grew up on a dairy farm in Kokomo, MS and received a B.S. degree from University of Southern Mississippi. In 1989, Kay graduated with a Masters of Divinity degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. While in seminary, she worked part-time at Brantley Baptist Center in New Orleans. In January 1990, she was appointed as a missionary with the Home Mission Board at the Brantley Center. In 1997 she moved to the Baptist Friendship House as Director as a missionary with the North American Mission Board. Kay's training is in the areas of life skills counseling, vocational evaluation and literacy. Kay received a Doctor of Ministry degree in Counseling/Psychology from NOBTS in 2008. The title of her project in ministry was Equipping Staff Members of Baptist Friendship House to Minister to Abused Women Post-Hurricane Katrina.

Email to: kbennettbfh@aol.com

Karina America, MDiv

Assistant Director

Karina grew up in Spartanburg, SC and was a member of First Baptist Church North Spartanburg. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Christian Studies at North Greenville College in Tigerville, SC. She was a US/C-2 missionary with the North American Mission Board at Baptist Friendship House from May 2002 to August 2005. She received her Master of Divinity degree in Psychology and Counseling at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in May 2005. She was appointed as a career missionary in August 2005 as the Assistant Director of Baptist Friendship House.

Email to: KAmerica77@aol.com

DeShannan Paddock, BA

DeShannan grew up in a small town in western Kentucky. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Murray State University in 1998 in Child Development. She was a US/C2 missionary at Carver Baptist Center from 2004-2006 before becoming a US/C2 missionary at Baptist Friendship House in 2007. She is currently partnering with BFH and a local church to start a day care in East New Orleans.

Email to: deshannan@hotmail.com

Michelle Bruss, GSW

Michelle grew up in Summit, Mississippi. She received her Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) in 2006 and her Master of Social Work (MSW) in 2007 both from the University of Alabama. She began as a US/C2 Missionary at Baptist Friendship House in 2007.

Email to: mrbruss@yahoo.com

Kim Westmoreland, BA

US/C-2 Missionary

Kim grew up in New Hebron, Mississippi. She graduated from the Mississippi University for Women in Columbus. She earned her bachelor's degree in Psychology. She has served as a camp GARAYWA cabin leader for Mississippi GA camps for 3 years. She is currently attending New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. She is seeking her Master's in Christian Education with a concentration in Social Work. She is began serving as a US/C-2 Missionary at BFH January 2010.

Email to: kimwest47@gmail.com

Ministries At Baptist Friendship House

SPIRITUAL GROWTH	EDUCATION	HEALTH EDUCATION	JOB READINESS	EMERGENCY AID	TRANSITIONAL HOUSING	CHRISTIAN WOMEN'S JOB CORPS
Bible Study	Literacy Training	Nutrition Class	Resumes	Clothing Closet	Shelter	Self-sufficiency Skills
Discipleship	GED Preparation	Hygiene Supplies	Applications	Food	Hot Meals	Mentoring
Counseling	Computer Lab	Health Fairs	Interviews	Snack Packs	Showers	Needs Assessment
Chapel	Life Skills	Health Referrals	Job Skills	Rent/Utility Assistance	Housekeeping Skills	Resource Development
Kids' Club	School Supplies	Health Counseling	Job Bank	Vouchers	Sewing/Crafts Skills	Networking
Bible Distribution	Tutoring	Screenings	Vocational Testing	Referrals	Laundry Skills	Evaluation
Christian Literature	Parenting Resources	Wellness Program	W.I.N.G.S.(Wisely Initiating New Goals & Skills)	Bus Tokens	Case Management	Covenants
Summer Programs	Up 2 H.O.P.E.	First Aid Supplies		Baby Supplies
	English as a Second Language

*Up 2 H.O.P.E. is a ministry to teen girls in our community. For more information, please view the "How You Can Help" page.

** If you cannot view the listing of our ministries above or would like to request a brochure and/or newsletter, please call (504-949-4469) or email us at: kbennettbfh@aol.com.

UPDATE

Want to stay connected? Visit our blog:
http://www.baptistfriendshiphouse.blogspot.com/

ALSO

Check us out on Facebook!!

Transitional Housing Program

In March 2007, we started our Transitional Housing program again. We've had to make some changes to the program because the city has changed drastically since Hurricane Katrina. Things have become more expensive so it is more difficult for families to transition into their own homes. Please pray as we seek to minister effectively to homeless women and children in New Orleans, LA.

Up 2 H.O.P.E. - updated 8/09

We had blast this summer during Up2HOPE! We enjoyed seeing the faces from the past and loved getting to know all the new faces. The girls enjoyed learning Tae Kwon Do, sewing, and other crafts. They also learned how to use the Fruit of the Spirit in their lives each day. They also enjoyed field trips and special guests. We are looking forward to seeing the girls next summer and through out the year. If you would like to support this ministry please contact Dr. Kay Bennett at kbennettbfh@aol.com or 504-949-4469.

Project HOPE Child Development Center - updated 8/08

Day care is a great need in the city. We have been in partnership with a local church to begin a day care that will be quality and affordable especially since the cost of day care has also increased. They are in the final inspections stage before they can officially open. Please pray that the process will be smooth and the day care will be able to open soon. Also pray for staffing of the day care and that the other needs will be met.

English as a Second Language (ESL) - 3/09

We are continuing to meet at 8 AM on Saturday mornings at a local hotel with women to teach them English. The ladies are wonderful and hardworking. Each week we hear them using more English and they even teach us Spanish! It's a great cultural experience. We rejoice in sharing God's word with them and teaching a new skill. Please pray for the workers at the hotel as many work two jobs to support their families.

Events

Check us out on Facebook and at our Blogspot for updates on BFH happenings!

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If you would like to receive additional updates by email, send your name and email address to: kbennettbfh@aol.com or KAmerica77@aol.com.

Please check out our Prayer Requests page! Click on the events located in the calendar and it will give you prayer requests for that particular event. There is a list of some of our daily ministries and ways you can pray and donate to these ministries. Please keep us in your prayers as we minister to women and children in New Orleans.

Directions to Baptist Friendship House

East: Take I-10 East toward New Orleans. Exit off the Elysian Fields Ave. exit. Turn to the left at the light. Go left on Elysian Fields Ave. 3-4 miles going towards the Mississippi River. Make a U-turn at Dauphine St. You will then be in front of our building. It has beige columns and a black rod iron fence with fleur-de-lis.

West: Take I-10 to I-610 split. Take the I-610 split toward Slidell. Take the Elysian Fields Ave. exit to the right. Go 3-4 miles on Elysian Fields Ave. towards the Mississippi River. Make a U-turn at Dauphine Street. You will then be in front of our building. It has beige columns and a black rod iron fence with fleur-de-lis.

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