The 44-year-old organization was formed by George Mitchell in 1973 to serve as a place of spiritual incubation for families in The Woodlands, Herndon said. The organization has since grown to become the area's largest nonprofit with a mission of building community through service with a variety of programs including counseling services, a Hand Me Up shop and a Veggie Village.
“Interfaith is so successful because of the people in the community—not just during disasters, but every day,” Herndon said. “Our board of directors, our staff and our incredible volunteer and donor base—they truly make a difference, and none of this would be possible without them.”
Crisis assistance
Herndon was appointed to the position of CEO and president in April 2016 after serving as Interfaith’s director of programs and services.
During her tenure, she said the demand for crisis assistance services in South Montgomery County has increased exponentially as a result of the economy and natural disasters.
In this program, Interfaith helps families who are going through a short-term crisis, which could be anything from a sudden job loss to a major medical expense. The organization helps these families through financial assistance with rent/mortgage, utility bills and other financial needs.
“Statistics show that once you’re behind [on bill payments for] three months, it’s really hard to catch up, and once your home is taken away, it’s even more difficult to get back into a stable home situation,” Herndon said. “We try really hard to keep people from becoming homeless, with the goal of having families back on their feet within 30-60 days.”
Herndon said she saw an uptick in demand following the 2016 floods and expects see another spike in demand in the months after Hurricane Harvey.
“This rebuild process will go on for at least 18 months if not longer,” she said. “We have some needs that have never come up before because there was just so much loss on such a grand scale.”
During the storm, Interfaith was tasked with collecting and distributing donations for all of Montgomery County out of a center in Conroe. Since Aug. 28, Interfaith has had more than 11,000 volunteer shifts.
“People are just so generous here,” Herndon said. “People were waiting three hours just to volunteer at our distribution center and here at Interfaith, there was a line out the door. We’ve never seen anything like this before—it’s incredible.”
Senior services
As baby boomers continue to age, Herndon said Interfaith has also experienced an increased demand for its senior service programs such as transportation and activities.
“We’ve found that [seniors] have a major transportation issue,” Herndon said. "We partnered with The Woodlands Township to provide that service to transport seniors to medical appointments and essential errands.”
Going forward, Herndon said families in crisis, Hurricane Harvey survivors and seniors will continue to need help from the community.
“We anticipate a very large holiday giving program this year,” she said. “These families are going to turn from disaster survivors to our crisis assistance families—it’s just inevitable. They’re going to need assistance with the holidays and going into 2018.”
4242 Interfaith Way, The Woodlands
281-367-1230
www.woodlandsinterfaith.org
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-5 p.m., closed Saturdays and Sundays
