Senior Services Workshops with Journeys End

Join The Matt Urban Center and Journey’s End Refugee Services for two FREE workshops on senior services programs. Learn about programs available to help seniors (age 60 and older) stay in their homes and resources for families and caregivers. We’ll be sharing information on programs including HEAP, Medicaid, SNAP, Meals on Wheels, and more.
Date: Thursday, April 25
Time: 11:00AM – 12:00PM & 5:30-6:30PM
Location: 1081 Broadway, Buffalo, NY 14212
We will have Somali, Bengali, and Spanish interpreters present to assist our neighbors from those communities. Come learn more about the programs our Senior Services Department offers! For more information, contact Michelle Holler at mholler@jersbuffalo.org .

Support the Hope Runners Team!

Our dear friend, musician, and longtime supporter, Harvey Brice, will once again be channeling one of his hobbies into a fundraising effort for the Matt Urban Center! Last year, Harvey ran a half marathon and with the help of friends and family, raised over $1500 for our agency’s homeless outreach efforts.

This year, Harvey is adding some manpower and has launched the Penny Lane Cafe Hope Runners. This team has entered to participate in the Buffalo Marathon on May 26, 2019 with the goal of raising $3,000 to support our programs via CrowdRise.

The team will kick off its fundraising efforts with a launch event on Sunday, April 14 from 12:00-3:00pm at Penny Lane Café in Clarence. The event will feature food and cash bar, speakers, basket raffle, marathon trivia quiz, sign-up table and T-shirt sales. The team is also offering any affiliated businesses and associations the opportunity to set up a table at the event to enlist members, sell product or simply speak and share information. Click here to see the event page on Facebook.

The fundraiser event is being sponsored by Anne Valby and the Penny Lane Café. StrideLive, a BETA running application for IOS, will be supplying team members technology for their training and safety and communication features on the day of the race.

Stay tuned to our Facebook page for more updates on how you can support the Hope Runners!

Employment Opportunity: Clinical Outreach Specialist

Now Hiring: Clinical Outreach Specialist

Job Description: The Clinical Outreach Specialist will function as a clinician and consultant primarily for the Homeless Outreach program. Main responsibilities include completing psych/social assessments and diagnoses with homeless individuals to determine eligibility for appropriate housing programs, creating individualized plans of care, and assisting with linkages to other health care resources in the community.

Click the link above for full listing.

Please submit cover letter and resume to Skylar Diamond at sdiamond@urbanctr.org

Basil Family Dealerships Stock the Pantry Drive

Our friends at Basil Family Dealerships are generously hosting a donation drive throughout the month of February to stock our personal essentials pantry! There will be donation boxes at their 9 Buffalo area locations where visitors can drop off items to be donated to our Hope Center’s personal essentials pantry. Items being collected include the following:

To top it off, Basil Family Dealerships is also doing a social media promotion! For every person who likes their Facebook page in the month of February, they’ll donate a dollar to our agency! Help us thank them for their generosity and raise some much needed funds to support our clients – follow this link to their page and click the “like” button.

Thanks to Basil Family Dealerships for their generous support for our agency and the clients we serve!

Home Buying & Repair Workshop with Journey’s End

We’re very excited to be partnering with our friends at Journey’s End to host a Home Buying and Repair workshop on Thursday, February 28 at 11:00AM at 1081 Broadway. We will have Somali and Bengali interpreters present to assist our neighbors from those communities. Come learn more about the programs our Housing Department offers!

MUC Awarded Grant from Buffalo Bills

We have been incredibly fortunate to have the ongoing support of our friends at the Buffalo Bills throughout the years. This week we learned that the Buffalo Bills Player Leadership Council awarded our Youth Department a grant through the Buffalo Bills Social Justice Fund to support our Achieving Success After School Program. We could not be more thankful for this organization’s generosity toward our agency and the families we serve! Go Bills!

Save the Date: Hearts for Hope

Join the Matt Urban Center for this celebration of Hope Givers in our community! The event will recognize three compassionate individuals who have contributed to our mission to serve those in need over the past year. The evening will include drinks, food, and live music, with proceeds from ticket sales benefiting the Matt Urban Hope Center and the clients they serve.
2018 Hope Giver Honorees
Officer Dave Zarbo, NFTA
Derek Malke, Alanerek, LLC
Kerri Howell, Wear n’ Share
Joyelle Tedeschi & Karen Carman, Founders of Hope Services
Monday, February 11, 2019
5:30-7:30 p.m.
Buffalo Iron Works, 49 Illinois Street
Tickets are $40 and can be purchased here or at the door.
Interested in becoming an event sponsor? Contact Sarah Maurer, Development Coordinator, at smaurer@urbanctr.org or (716) 893-7222 x232.

Volunteers Needed: Urban Diner

Looking to do some volunteering in the New Year? We are in need of some dedicated volunteers to work in our Urban Diner kitchen at the Matt Urban Hope Center!
Volunteers are needed on weekdays from 1:00-5:00 p.m. Tasks include preparing meals and drinks in the kitchen, as well as washing dishes and taking out garbage.
To learn more or sign up to volunteer, please contact Latasha Colbert at (716) 893-7222 x313 or lcolbert@urbanctr.org.

Our Hardworking Homeless Outreach Team

We want to give a big shoutout to our Homeless Outreach team on an amazing accomplishment. In 2018, this hardworking crew helped 159 homeless individuals secure safe housing. Their initial goal was to house at least 6 people each month, and they ended up hitting that goal every two weeks! We’re lucky to have such compassionate people on our staff and we applaud their commitment to serving the underserved in our community! Congratulations Abbie, Joe, Skylar and Nick!

Celebrating the Season with the Buffalo Bills

Our Youth Department was invited by the Buffalo Bills to participate in the Festival of Lights at the Hamburg Fairgrounds. The students were fed dinner, received gift bags, and had the opportunity to meet the players and get their autographs. They also had the chance to explore the festival, enjoying the rides and the outdoor light displays.

Our relationship with the Buffalo Bills continues to develop and expand, providing new opportunities for the children we serve.  Thank you to the Buffalo Bills for their generosity this holiday season!