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By Nicole Seiferth

Every Tuesday and Thursday, people gather in Trinity's churchyard for a brown bag lunch, a parish ministry that has served more than 10,000 lunches to anyone who is hungry since its inception in 2009. The lunch is also attended by a two-person outreach team from the Bowery Residents' Committee (BRC), an organization that has worked with the homeless of New York City since 1971.

The BRC's mission is to build trust and lasting relationships with the homeless population through teams that work all over the city, including the extensive subway system. They help clients with a number of services, including housing, health needs, substance abuse recovery, and employment.

The team dedicated to serving Lower Manhattan five days a week, 16 hours a day, was made possible by a partnership between the BRC, the Downtown Alliance, and Trinity Wall Street.

The Rev. Canon Anne Mallonee, Trinity's vicar, said the partnership means that "we are involved in homeless outreach and housing placement every day."

The BRC team works all over the Lower Manhattan area, getting to know the transient and chronically homeless who live here or who come for the day to panhandle.

Lunchtime conversations at Brown Bag are an opportunity to further build trust and strengthen relationships with clients who may be reluctant to accept the BRC's offer of help.

"This is an opportunity for us to keep in touch with clients we're working with, as well as engage with new people," said BRC team leader Tim Long.

The team has also been on-hand to help Trinity serve people who come to the church for help with housing and other needs that require social services.

"No matter what challenges an individual faces, we believe they still have the desire for something better," said BRC president Muzzy Rosenblatt. "We want to create opportunities for them to do that."

Nicole Seiferth is Assistant Editor for Website and Parish Publications.

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