"Your Helpful Neighbor" A Friend on the Streets of Kensington

May 3, 2021

Dear Friends of "Your Helpful Neighbor",

I'm seeking the collective wisdom of the people who have been so supportive of my efforts in Kensington over these past - almost - five years.  I've got to make some decisions pretty quickly.

When I started visiting Kensington, I was self-employed.  I had a service business that brought in about $35.00 per hour 4 to 8 hours per day five days a week.  As I saw my customer base shrinking I was continuing in Kensington and becoming aware of Recovery Centers of America (RCA).  On October 1, 2018, I stopped making appointments for my own customers and began full-time service as a driver with RCA. 

I did keep one customer and worked with them one half-day each week through the gardening season as I helped them maintain their formal gardens.  This one appointment for four hours of service brought in $140.00 each week.  That's $560.00 per typical month and the equivalent of an additional week of take-home pay from RCA.

The primary gardener in that family lost her battle with cancer over this past winter and I no longer have that additional income.  A healthy tax refund and government stimulus check thus far this year has kept me floating just above the financial waterline.  I'm now sinking.

I would love to keep moving further into serving the people who are on the streets of Kensington.  To do so, I've got to increase my income independent of that effort and/or find more financial support to make that happen.

After having reviewed all of my monthly expenses, I've cut back or eliminated a great deal.  That has helped but it's not enough.  Apart from my ministry efforts, typical life expenses continue for me just as they do for any other person.  I'm currently in what I'm describing as a $1,500.00 hole, literally living out of my credit line.  Between now and my next paycheck on May 14, I have about $500 worth of monthly bills that don't yet have funding for them.  This is a spiritually/emotionally exhausting state of being and I can't continue this way.

I do have a small group of people who provide funding for the actual expenses of my visits to Kensington.  I am VERY thankful for their contributions that cover a good bit of those costs. 

To keep doing what I do in Kensington - and more God willing - I've got to be thinking in a new way and start seeking financial support for my own more personal expenses.  This financial support will keep my time available to serve and keep me from finding a second job that will only take away from my available time to serve.

To that end, I'm seeking your prayers, your wisdom, and guidance, and, if you feel so led, your financial contribution.  By going to this link,[1] you can find various ways to contribute to my ministry efforts.[2]

Thank you for considering this.  I welcome your thoughts on any aspect of this.

Prayerfully, Respectfully and Sincerely,

Chris Battin

ccwbattin@gmail.com

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[1] https://behealedfromemotionaltrauma.blogspot.com/p/ministry-funding-options.html

[2] I am not yet established as a 501 corporation.  I'm meeting with an accountant later this month to review the pros and cons of doing so.