Established in 1986 as a ministry of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Clifton, Saint Peter’s Haven is a non-sectarian 501(c)(3) charitable organization that feeds the hungry and helps the homeless.
The services we provide at Saint Peter’s Haven focus on supplemental food assistance, transitional housing, and casework services, all of which allow our families to maintain a sense of normalcy and empowerment as they work to overcome difficult circumstances. We help families recover by cooperating with other social services to ensure families receive all available benefits, including veteran benefits, housing and food subsidies, cash assistance, and others.
Any concerns regarding our programs can be addressed to the Passaic County Department of Human Services at pcdal@passaiccountynj.com.
OUR MISSION
At Saint Peter's Haven, our mission is to provide food and shelter to families and individuals in need, prevent homelessness as well as its recurrence, and offer stability to families during times of crisis. Feeding the hungry and sheltering the homeless gives strength and hope to those most in need of nurturing and compassion, at a time when life is at its bleakest.
FOOD PANTRY
Our food pantry provides supplemental food to those in our community experiencing hunger. Currently serving over 2600 individuals each month, our pantry program offers participants a five-day supplement of food once per month. The monthly allotment of groceries includes nonperishable foods, bread, meat, produce, and more, as available. The SPH Food Pantry also acts as a central resource for various services made available to low-income families and individuals, including health clinics, job postings, veterans services, and access to local and national agencies and programs.
We also support our clients throughout the year with special programs to meet additional needs beyond their regular food allotment. SPH a turkey with all the fixings for Thanksgiving, gifts for children and teenagers during the holiday season, and warm coats, hats, gloves, and scarves in the winter.
TRANSITIONAL FAMILY SHELTER
Saint Peter’s Haven provides short-term housing for homeless and at-risk families. Our goal is to support and maintain the family as a unit, provide case management, and assist our families in obtaining safe, long-term, affordable housing. Our highest priority is to keep each family intact to maintain the normal rhythm of life. We work closely with other community organizations to combat homelessness in Passaic County.
Most stays are about 90 - 120 days, allowing families to work with a social worker in the meantime to obtain more stable housing. Our transitional shelter consists of two homes: a single-family, four-bedroom home and a two-family house with three-bedroom and two-bedroom units. Thus, our three units can shelter up to 18 people at a given time.
During their stay, we help tenants identify the root causes behind their current situations and ensure all family members obtain the support they need. SPH accepts families of any configuration, including inter-generational and extended families. We are particularly concerned for our veterans experiencing any degree of homelessness. SPH works closely with veteran organizations to identify available benefits, including housing and health aid.
COMMUNITY GARDEN
In an ongoing effort to provide access to healthy food to our community, we started two community gardens in spring 2015 through a grant from Passaic County and City Green's "Dig-In!" program. The number of beds continues to grow with help from City Green and Home Depot. Our gardens increase the supply of locally grown vegetables available to SPH Food Pantry members.
