Overcoming homelessness through community
History
Open Table Ministry was officially incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2009. Long before 2009, we were on a journey helping people experiencing homelessness through the help of local congregations, support from Duke Divinity school interns, and homeless outreach workers. We started on the side of the road at 15-501, near New Hope Commons, serving lunch to a few friends who had set up an encampment nearby.
We named ourselves Open Table Ministry because we wanted people to know all are welcome here. We offer an open table, where there is room for everyone. We hold solidarity, inclusion, and community as key values while we work together toward stability and wholeness.
Now, more than a decade later, we have moved to our permanent location in the heart of downtown Durham, at Trinity UMC, where we host more than 360 individuals each month for clothing, holistic support, and community. You are always welcome to join us at the table!
Mission
Open Table Ministry seeks out and guides those experiencing homelessness and poverty to long-term health and wholeness by building ongoing trusting relationships, meeting practical and personal needs, making connections to community resources, and bridging critical gaps in the social services system.
At Open Table Ministry, we are intentional about befriending, building strong relationships with, and serving the homeless members of our community who are pushed aside, living unsheltered, often to be unnoticed, disregarded, or ignored.
Values
Hospitality – We offer friendship and community to all.
Compassion – We relate to each other through caring and kindness, sharing the joys and challenges of our journeys.
Truthfulness – We speak the truth with love, even when the message is tough.
Trustworthiness – We seek to follow through on what we undertake with competence and accountability.
Empowerment – We affirm the value and dignity of every person as we follow God’s path toward wholeness.
What We Do
Free Store
We provide a "Free Store" every Tuesday morning, where our neighbors without homes are able to enjoy a cup of coffee and a warm shower (thank you, Fresh Start Durham!) while they collect fresh changes of clothing, shoes, coats, toiletries, and other practical items. In 2024, over 1,000 of our neighbors visited the Free Store, and we distributed more than 33,000 items.
Get to Work
Open Table Ministry provides work-related clothing and equipment such as steel-toed boots, uniforms, and heavy-duty gloves to those transitioning from homelessness into housing and into the work force. In 2024, Get to Work served 97 people, providing work shoes, boots, and other necessary items that enabled them to, well, get to work!
Ready ID
A sad reality of life on the street is that many of our clients lose or have their belongings stolen, including important documents such as state IDs and social security cards—without which it’s impossible to gain employment, housing, or even basic shelter. We work with individuals to replace those critical identity documents, paying any necessary fees. In 2024 we helped 97 individuals with getting new IDs, 115 individuals obtain social security cards, and 65 individuals procure their birth certificates.
Office Hours (Case Management)
OTM helps to navigate the housing process by providing spiritual and social support, through motivational interviewing, evidence-based best practices, and Continuum of Care partnerships with other service providers. In 2023, we provided ongoing case management for 111 of our neighbors.
Emergency Shelter
We operate a seasonal winter emergency shelter, providing a warm, safe place to sleep for our most vulnerable clients. In 2023, we provided 1,843 nights of emergency shelter to 85 adults and 83 children.
See what we accomplished together in 2023!
Visit Us
Open Table Ministry is located at Trinity UMC in the heart of downtown Durham.
Location
215 North Church Street
Durham, NC 27701
Hours
Donations accepted:
Mondays 9am – 4pm
Tuesdays 12pm - 4pm
Wednesdays-Fridays 9am – 4pm
(*please call us with any questions)
Free Store- Tuesdays 9:30am - 11:30am
Phone
(919) 412-7011
Resources
Want to learn more about Durham and homelessness? Then check out our Resources page!
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