Love INC helping Valley address needs

A Valley organization is helping spread the love to those who need it most.

Love In the Name of Christ (Love INC) is a local organization affiliated with churches around the Valley. Together, they help address needs of people, and so far, the results have been astounding.

"In six months, we've had over 1,200 needs requested, which is amazing," said Linda Pettyjohn, executive director of Love INC.

Pettyjohn said Love INC's mission is to provide a central office for the church partnership.

"We believe we're here to love our community, and to help the community any way we can," Pettyjohn said. "We've raised almost 400 volunteers from the local churches, and they do everything from answering the phones to delivering furniture to meeting with clients and addressing needs."

Love INC is a national organization with more than 120 affiliates nationwide. Locally, it has been around since last November.

When a first-time client is in need, he or she must call and set up an appointment with Love INC. Pettyjohn said the interview takes between an hour to an hour and a half.

"We're trying to get a full needs assessment, to find out what the person needs. We've got three databases -- one is a database of resources within the community, one is a database of churches, and the other is a database of volunteers," Pettyjohn said. "We try to match them up as best we can."

That could mean referring the client to an appropriate agency to better handle the need, or it could mean helping the client with something as simple as giving them a ride to a job interview or other appointment, Pettyjohn said.

Volunteers keep the organization thriving, Pettyjohn said.

"It's pretty amazing. Last quarter, we had over 12,000 volunteer hours donated," Pettyjohn said.

Love INC is financially assisted by local churches in the partnership, but that means helping clients financially is hard to do. Pettyjohn said the organization is launching the Foundation Stones Partners program, in which the organization is trying to get 1,000 people to donate $10 a month.

"It's an investment in the community," Pettyjohn said. "Right now, we're very limited in terms of what financial help we can offer. I know there are 1,000 people out there who want to invest in their community."

As the organization looks to the future, Pettyjohn said homelessness is becoming a bigger and bigger issue.

"The homeless population has risen dramatically lately," Pettyjohn said. "We're asking, 'How do we [serve] that population?' It's a question that isn't going to go away."

The group is also starting a Relational Ministry, to make sure needs are addressed over a long period of time.

"The Relational Ministry will include things like parenting classes, assigning mentors to work with people over a longer period of time, things like that," Pettyjohn said. "And, of course, the spiritual needs of the client will always be addressed."