Fern Creek/Highview United Ministries, Inc.

Fern Creek/Highview United Ministries, Inc.

FCHUM Ministries

O Individual & Family Assistance Center
O Adult Day Care
O Families in Transition
O HELP (Health Equipment Lending Program)

Individual & Family Assistance Center (IFAC)

Specific Mission of the Individual & Family Assistance Center

The mission of the Individual & Family Assistance Center is to provide a caring, responsive environment to which families in crisis to come to receive assistance in resolving their crisis. IFAC meets basic needs by providing food, clothing, personal items, and emergency financial assistance (for rent or mortgage, utilities, & prescriptions). The Individual & Family Assistance Center works with families, connecting them with other community services, and when needed advocates on their behalf. The Individual & Family Assistance Center provides life skills counseling, job networking, and other resource information to help families move beyond their crisis and move toward self sufficiency. Special holiday and seasonal programs are also provided to help families in need.

History - Individual & Family Assistance Center
At the beginning, the main focus of Fern Creek/Highview United Ministries was emergency assistance - helping families in crisis with food, and financial assistance for rent, utilities, transportation and prescriptions. The agency had a part-time Executive Director, and the office was open just 3 days a week, staffed by volunteers. Helping families in crisis is still a primary focus of Fern Creek/Highview United Ministries through our Individual & Family Assistance Center. Through the years our service has grown to meet the expanding needs of the community. The Individual & Family Assistance Center is now open 5 days a week, with a masters level social worker as director as well as a part-time assistance director. We still use lots of volunteers however, in interviewing, staffing our food closet, and working in various programs of the Center. The number of families coming to us has quadrupled through the years, as our community has grown and the needs have increased. Most of the folks coming to us are working, but an illness, or unexpected emergency has set them back. With huge increases in gas and utility prices, many families are coming for help who have never asked anyone for help before. Many people think of the Fern Creek/Highview communities as affluent or at least middle class areas without need, but you would be surprised at the number of families living right on the edge who have to choose between food and rent, medicine and utilities. Through our Individual & Family Assistance Center, we work with families to help them through their crisis, but also link them up with resources to help them stabilize their situation, and then move toward self sufficiency. While we have some families who will probably always struggle because of health problems and limited income, our goal is to help families move toward a better life as they find additional resources to help them meet their goals to provide for their families.

The Individual & Family Assistance Center also works with other agencies in town to meet families needs. We provide vouchers for families to shop at Goodwill when they need clothing or or household items. We are a Dare to Care food site, and we receive much of our emergency food supply from Dare to Care. We also work with the Neighborhood Places and Family Resource Centers to assist families in receiving what they need to meet their needs. One of the principles of community ministries is that we do not want to duplicate services, but rather fill the gaps in community services in order to improve the lives of the residents who live in Fern Creek and Highview.

Adult Day Center

Since 1990, Fern Creek/Highview United Ministries has also provided services to frail older adults and their families through its Adult Day Center. The Adult Day Center was made possible in part by the generosity of St. Bernard Catholic Church who offered space - a house that had once been a convent. The Adult Day Center which started out as a social model Adult Day Center, is now a state licensed health model Adult Day Center, with a full-time nurse. The Adult Day Center balances cognitive activities with physical activities in a structured fun-filled day. An optional breakfast is offered, along with a hot lunch and an afternoon snack. Activities include exercises, games, music and other entertainment, intergenerational activities, pet visits, and much more. Individuals coming to the Adult Day Center need supervision because of health or cognitive challenges. Some participants have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's or other type of dementia; others are recovering from strokes, have problems with balance, or have other health related issues such as diabetes, congestive heart failure or depression.

The Adult Day Center provides a safe environment for care-givers to bring their loved one while they work, or take out time for much needed respite from 24 hour a day care-giving. The Adult Day Center staff become a support team for the care-giver working with doctors and family to provide the best care for the older adult. The Adult Day Center is a fun place, celebrating the strengths of the older adult, helping him or her to function at his or her highest level. The Adult Day Center allows the older adult to remain in his or her home, or that of a loved one for as long as possible, preventing premature nursing home placement. The Adult Day Center works woth other community agencies such as the Alzheimer's Association, TRIAD, and KIPDA - the Area Agency On Aging to insure the best service for the frail elderly of our community and their familes.

About our association

Misson Statement

The purpose of Fern Creek/Highview United Ministries is to provide a ministry for residents of the Fern Creek Highview areas of Metro Louisville and to improve the quality of life for residents in the community. Fern Creek/Highview United Ministries provides programs and activities which respond to the human needs of all residents in the community.

Fern Creek Highview United Ministries (FCHUM)

FCHUM is a not-for-profit social service agency founded in 1988 by 10 local churches in the Louisville, Kentucky area. A group of representatives from 10 different churches met and committed to move beyond their denominational ties to work together to meet the needs of their community.

Currently, Fern Creek/Highview United Ministries is supported by 17 churches representing 12 different denominations working together, making many significant contributions within the community on a daily basis.

We have over 100 volunteers who work in the programs, serving at all levels from janitorial tasks to fund raising. FCHUM has been fortunate enough to receive help from various businesses and individuals in the community who want to make a difference in the lives of others, It takes the commitment of the churches, businesses, and other community organizations to make sure all residents of Fern Creek and Highview are able to enjoy a good quality of life.

Together we can make a difference. Please consider how you can plug in with us!

Member Churches

Beulah Presbyterian Church
Cedar Creek Baptist Church
Fern Creek Baptist Church
Fern Creek Christian Church
Fern Creek United Methodist Church
Good Shepherd Church
Highview Baptist Church
Lighthouse Christian Center
St. Alban's Episcopal Church
St. Bernard Catholic Church
St. Gabriel Catholic Church
St. Stephen Charismatic Episcopal Church
St. Stephen Lutheran Church
Seaton Park Baptist Church
Solid Rock Church of God
Summits Heights United Methodist Church
Trinity World Outreach Center
Ferncreek/Highview Ministerial Association

Email us
Ferncreek2.ministries.crnky.org