Shelter from the cold | Cross Catholic Outreach

You know it’s going to be a cold winter when south Floridians kill the A/C and drag their furnaces out of retirement.

In the countries where Cross serves, many poor families lack adequate protection from extreme weather conditions.

Last night, our Florida office experienced temperatures around 30 degrees – frigid for us, but mild for those of you enduring heavy snow and strong winds up north. While Florida worries about damage to crops, other parts of the country endure blizzard conditions.

The chill at our front door reminds us to be thankful that we have a door to shut, and that we have warm clothes to wear, hot chocolate to drink, and temperature-controlled bedrooms to sleep in.

As more cold weather comes our way, we also remember our friends in developing nations, where whole villages live at the mercy of the elements. Mud huts and cardboard shanties offer little to no protection from rain, wind, freezing nights, or the blistering summer sun. For subsistence-level farmers, bad weather can even mean no food to feed their children.

In Haiti, many thousands of families have been living in tent camps ever since the January earthquake destroyed their homes. Cross Catholic staff members have been visiting the camps and working to improve living conditions, even while new challenges such as a cholera epidemic threaten recovery efforts.

But the need for safe, secure housing goes far beyond Haiti’s borders and affects millions of families around the world. That’s why we want you to know about the awesome opportunities we offer for donors to get involved. Click here to learn how you can bless an impoverished family with a brand new, sturdy home.